Animals, Science and Modernity: The Intricacies of Livestock Keeping in Late Imperial and Republican China
Wednesday, 6 December 2023, 7:15 – 8:45am EST (1:15 – 2:45pm CET)
ASEH Connects Event
Speakers: Renée Krusche and Yan Gao
Winged, cloven-hoofed, furry, feathery or wooly – when talking about Chinese history and the societies situated therein, rarely do we mention the non-human populations despite their role in war, migration, culture and human lives. Bringing together approaches from environmental and medical history, this digital dialogue will explore the intricacies of rearing, keeping and treating livestock animals in late imperial and Republican China with a focus on horses and sheep. Delving into the history of these two species in China, the two speakers show their importance in the political and economic life of the time, but also the problems state officials, soldiers or medical professionals faced when trying to harness the two species for the state’s goals. Human objectives could be thwarted not only by unforeseen environmental factors but also by animals’ behaviors and their physical reactions, which not always conformed to human expectations but often ran counter to them. This event wants to invite reflection not only on the specific fate of these two species but also on human-animal relations more broadly.
Feature Image: “China Putzehei – livestock” by Anja Disseldorp is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Latest posts by Jessica DeWitt (see all)
- #EnvHist Worth Reading: October 2024 - November 18, 2024
- Call for Submissions – From Coulees to Muskeg: A Saskatchewan Environmental History Series - October 15, 2024
- #EnvHist Worth Reading: September 2024 - October 8, 2024
- #EnvHist Worth Reading: August 2024 - September 21, 2024
- #EnvHist Worth Reading: July 2024 - August 15, 2024
- Call for Submissions: Sustainable Publishing Special Issue - July 26, 2024
- Online Event – Demystifying the Hidden Curriculum for New Professors – ASEH Connects - July 17, 2024
- #EnvHist Worth Reading: June 2024 - July 6, 2024
- Online Event – ASEH Connects – Let’s Chat About Communicating Environmental History to the Public - July 5, 2024
- Podcast – Oldman River Watershed - June 24, 2024