Animals are increasingly at the forefront of research questions – not as shadows to human stories, or as beings we want to understand biologically, or for purely our benefit – but as beings who have histories, stories, and geographies of their own. PhD Candidate Claudia Hirtenfelder talks to animal studies scholars about some of the most important ideas emerging out of this recent turn.
Each season is set around a particular theme so that the ways in which these different concepts hang together (or not) become more apparent, allowing for deeper reflection and consideration not only about animals but about the broader fields in which they are now being considered. To that end, each season finishes with a Grad Review to help tie some themes together and identify potential points of divergence.
Season 1 – Animals and the Law
Season 2 – Animals and Experience
Season 3 – Animals and The Urban
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Join PhD Candidate Claudia Hirtenfelder as she learns about important concepts in Animal Studies. Season 1 focuses on Animals and the Law.
In this final episode of Season 2, Claudia talks to Joshua Jones, Siobhan Speiran, and Pablo Perez Castello about the theme of Animals and Experience. Together they unpack some of the overarching ideas to emerge in episodes 1 to 9 …continue
Proudly brought to you by: 18 January 2021
Gaming is one of the most consumed forms of media globally making it an omportant space from to explore human-animal relations. In this episode, media scholars Michael Rübsamen, Osvaldo Cleger, and Keung Yoon Bae discuss the interconnections of gaming, representation, …continue
Proudly brought to you by: 13 October 2025
In this episode we animals, power, and popular media. Emily Major, Debra Merskin, and Lu Liu help to think through how animals are manufactured as “pests” and “icons” in media and how those labels shape empathy, policy, and everyday cruelty …continue
Proudly brought to you by: 11 October 2025
