Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book focuses on range, diversity, and emotional implications of Pepys's interactions with dogs, illustrates the approach of this collection and exposes some of the problems, challenges, and rewards of such a perspective. Humane studies move beyond the level of representation and symbolism to explore actual lived interactions between humans and animals. The book seeks to contribute to a growing body of scholarship that concentrates more purely on interactions: humans and animals acting and reacting against, with, and between one another. Ido Ben-Ami examines emotions towards animals elicited by an Ottoman festival celebrated in Istanbul in 1582 and analyses the representation of emotional responses to animals in the manuscript describing the event. The range within the species of homo sapiens might also be considered, with attendant questions of gender, power, and status.