Paper short abstract

This paper examines the core elements of narratives of encounters between human and non-human animals to see the connection between older and recent forms of the narratives. This connection will be examined at the level of form/structure of the narrative and the inherent meaning in the narrative.

Paper long abstract

Encounters between human and non-human wild animals have a long history in the folk narrative and a wild spread across the world. The same is true of more recent narratives of such encounters. While the folk narrative makes this encounter possible with magical means, contemporary narratives emphasize realistic evidence. The absence of mutual, shared language makes the search for other means of communication necessary. These other means of communication require recognition as well as questioning.

In this paper I propose to examine the core elements of narratives of encounters between human and non-human animals to be able to see if there is a connection between older and recent forms of the narratives of encounters between human and non-human animals. This connection will be examined at the level of form/structure of the narrative and the inherent meaning in the narrative so as to be able to explore narrative continuities and philosophical possibilities. The question this paper seeks to answer is: Do these narratives carry a potential for an alternate epistemology of the more-than-human world?