Description
There are those we consider to be kin and those we believe to be something other-even alien-yet the distinction between these two categories is constantly in flux. Frances Bartkowski explores narratives of kinship as they are defined through the news, films, and novels of today. What is the impact of these “stories of origin” on our regard for nonhuman species? In a world in which DNA has replaced blood as the medium through which we establish kinship, whom are we connected to and whom do we engage in conflict? By examining the dynamic between what we consider natural and what we treat as cultural, Bartkowski highlights the arbitrariness of traditional kinship arrangements and asks us to rethink our notions of empathy and ethics. According to Bartkowski, the bestiary is the oldest of literary forms. It is the realm in which we allegorize the place of humans and other species-a menagerie encompassing animals we know as well as human-animal chimeras and other beings that challenge the “natural” order of the world. Through her analysis of contemporary film, literature, and news media, Bartkowski reveals the role of “totems and taboos” in forming and re-forming kinship categories-groupings that enable us to tie the personal to social. Yet advances in reproductive technologies, the mapping of genomes, and the study of primates continually destabilize these categories and recast the debate between nature and culture. Bartkowski shows how current discussions of ethics and desire determine our contemporary attitudes toward issues of care and suggests a new framework for negotiating connection and conflict. Frances Bartkowski
