Time Schedule:
Jennifer Seltz
HIST 498
Seattle Campus
Each seminar examines a different subject or problem. A quarterly list of the seminars and their instructors is available in the Department of History undergraduate advising office.
Class description
ANIMALS AND AMERICAN CULTURE, 1600-2000
Why did Americans kill and dismember wolves for three centuries, and then pass laws protecting them? Why do people pay to look at dolphins and orcas at Sea World? When and why did city dwellers start to think of cats and goldfish as friends? Why did cows replace bison on the Great Plains? What do racetracks and dog shows have to do with debates over imperialism? When did Americans start eating hamburgers, and why might they be stopping? This course will consider the intertwined history of animals and humans in the United States, asking how and why different animals have mattered as sources of food, labor, leisure, pleasure, and power to diverse groups of people. We will examine the histories of animals as symbols of and aids to national expansion, industrialization, and environmental preservation, among other topics.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Some background in U.S. or environmental history is helpful, but not required. This is the capstone course for senior history majors.
Class assignments and grading
Some background in U.S. or environmental history is helpful, but not required. This is the capstone course for senior history majors.
