Humans and Other Animals
Abstract
I begin with the importance of understanding the ethos of a society through its cultural, philosophical, and literary narratives. I discuss the pervasive othering of animals in literature and explore colonial narratives that reveal imperialist attitudes to both natives and animals, often conflating them into a similar subservience. I then analyze contrasting worldviews that emerge in ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts, where animals are not ‘other’ to humans, but part of a continuum. I end the chapter by discussing the evolving attitudes to animals in contemporary South and Southeast Asian fiction.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature
Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies
Geographies of human-animal interactions
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 85–138
- Publication date
- 18 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter