Animals figure in human society and culture in multiple ways, while frequently being marginalized or reduced to commodities, production units, status symbols and tools. This course offers a critical exploration of how a shifting economic, scientific, political and media-shaped landscape assigns various roles and values to animals in contemporary Western society, and the consequences for living conditions of animals and humans alike. The course integrates innovative critical animal studies research from a range of areas such as sociology, media and communication studies, philosophy, cultural studies, geography, gender studies and critical race studies.