ENGL 3921

Apes and Language

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

Talking chimpanzees, orangutans, bonobos or gorillas are certainly widespread in myths, novels or movies (from Franz Kafka to The Planet of the Apes, from Tristan Garcia to We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves). But centuries of philosophical speculation and of scientific research have also endowed some great apes with the ability to communicate verbally with humans, either through sign language or with arbitrary symbols on computer keyboards. This class will explore the scientific, theoretical, imaginary, and legal underpinnings and consequences of such endeavors and narratives, thereby also serving as an introduction to the "post-humanistic" field of "animal studies." Our course will take advantage of unique video resources, the Cornell archive documenting the life of Kanzi and other bonobos as well as the "Ape Testimony Project."

When Offered Spring.

Distribution Category (CA-AS, SCD-AS)

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