Seven Types Of Animality: Exploring Ambiguities In Human-Animal Relations Through Irish Literature.pdf

Lessons from Reading and Teaching Animal Fictions," explores the diverse representations of animals in literature and their implications for understanding human-animal relations. The author, Roman Bartosch, argues that reading animal fictions requires a nuanced approach called 'ciferal' reading, which embraces ambiguity and tensions rather than seeking to resolve them.

Key Points:

1. Diversity of Animal Stories: Bartosch examines various Irish literary texts, from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels to Seamus Heaney's Death of a Naturalist, showcasing the wide range of animal narratives and their meanings.

2. Lessons from Animal Fictions: The essay identifies seven lessons derived from these stories:
- Recognizing the symbolic value of animals and their roles in human narratives.
- Understanding the impact of ambiguity on readerly interpretations.
- Cultivating a 'ciferal' reading approach that engages with the semiotic agency of both human and animal characters.
- Exploring the limitations of allegorical readings that domesticate or simplify animal representations.
- Acknowledging the imaginative power of literature in complicating and retrieving phenomenal experiences.
- Emphasizing the importance of language as a tool for engaging with unequal others, including animals.
- Promoting 'thinking-feeling' as an alternative to logocentrism in understanding human-animal interactions.

3. Theoretical Perspectives: Bartosch draws on various scholars and theories, including:
- Kelly Oliver's philosophical mappings of ambiguity.
- Hilde Kean and Erica Fudge on animal agency and historiography.
- Vinciane Despret and David Herman on the role of literature in understanding nonhuman subjects and theories of mind.
- Marco Caracciolo on the distinction between literary imagination and cognitive science.

4. Conclusion: The author concludes that literary studies, particularly those focused on animals, offer unique insights into human identity, society, and our relationship with the natural world. By embracing ambiguity and cultivating 'ciferal' reading practices, we can enrich our understanding of both humans and animals in a multispecies world.