Kafka's Creatures: Animals, Hybrids, and Other Fantastic Beings

"The chapters included in this volume show how Kafka problematizes the liminal space between the human and the animal, thereby calling into question the nature and legitimacy of historical claims to human superiority over nonhuman animals as well as the authority of taxonomic designations about natural kinds generally. The chapters also shed valuable light on the respective contributions that philosophy and literature can make to our reflections on the human ethos, as well as on the fundamental limitations of each of these disciplines in the endeavor to find our proper place in the larger cosmic scheme of things"-Gary Steiner, Bucknell University. "Kafka's Creatures is a significant addition to the literature in the growing interdisciplinary field of animal studies. This collection of high-quality original essays focuses on numerous issues including who we are, who 'they' are, and how this information can be used to make the lives of animals better. We also see how important it is to recognize that we ourselves are animals who share mental abilities with other species, and that we should embrace this fact rather than arrogantly reject it."-Marc Bekoff, author of Wild Justice: The M