Literature & Literary Studies

In the company of wolves

Werewolves, wolves and wild children

by Sam George, Bill Hughes

Description

In the company of wolves presents further research from the Open Graves, Open Minds Project. It connects together innovative research from a variety of perspectives on the cultural significance of wolves, wild children and werewolves as portrayed in different media and genres. We begin with the wolf itself as it has been interpreted as a cultural symbol and how it figures in contemporary debates about wilderness and nature. Alongside this, we consider eighteenth-century debates about wild children ­- often thought to have been raised by wolves and other animals - and their role in key questions about the origins of language and society. The collection continues with essays on werewolves and other shapeshifters as depicted in folk tales, literature, film and TV, concluding with the transition from animal to human in contemporary art, poetry and fashion.

More Information

Rights Information

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo [DRC], Congo, Republic of the, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hongkong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, China, Macedonia [FYROM], Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Cyprus, Palestine, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan

Reviews

Amidst concerns about our relationship with nature, in a culture informed by Romanticism and a post-Enlightenment doubt about the centrality of humanity, contemporary fictions often turn to the animal and to transitions between animal and human to interrogate what is unique about our species. In her werewolf paranormal romance Linger, the Young Adult author Maggie Stiefvater quotes Rainer Maria Rilke: 'even the most clever of animals see that we are not surely at home in our interpreted world'. Rilke's sense of the amphibious nature of being human and our status as speaking, interpreting animal raises the essential questions that this volume seeks to challenge and respond to. Bringing together innovative research on the cultural significance of wolves, wild children, and werewolves as portrayed in different media and genres, these essays situate the werewolf in a broader context of animality and sociality, challenging the simplistic model of the werewolf as 'the beast within'. We invite you now into the company of wolves and to listen to their voices as they sound in 'our interpreted world'.

Author Biography

Bill Hughes was recently awarded his doctorate from the University of Sheffield Dr Samantha George is Senior Lecturer in Literature at the University of Hertfordshire; Sam George is Senior Lecturer in Literature at the University of Hertfordshire

Trusted Partner
Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press is a leading UK publisher known for excellent research in the humanities and social sciences.

View all titles

Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Manchester University Press
  • Publication Date July 2023
  • Orginal LanguageEnglish
  • ISBN/Identifier 9781526171979 / 152617197X
  • Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
  • FormatPrint PDF
  • Pages304
  • ReadershipGeneral/trade; College/higher education; Professional and scholarly
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Dimensions234 X 156 mm
  • Biblio NotesDerived from Proprietary 4645
  • SeriesManchester University Press
  • Reference Code15620

Subscribe to our

newsletter