ABSTRACT
Corman asks us to consider how nonhuman animal cultures might shape anti-colonial critique, a field that centralizes questions of culture, but implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) denies the possibility of nonhuman forms. Straddling critical animal studies and anti-colonial thought, the author offers a challenge to both areas: critical animal studies tend to neglect anti-colonialism, while anti-colonial thought tends to perpetuate anthropocentrism. If those involved in anti-colonial movements grapple with the impacts of colonization on culture, and strive for reclamation and revitalization of culture in resistance to these processes, what responsibility, if any, is there to address the influences of colonization not only on nonhuman animal life per se but also, specifically, on some nonhuman animals’ cultures? This question is significantly troubled by the fact that animalization is integral to colonialism, and its inherent dehumanization, casting certain peoples as subhuman and animal-like. Does the inclusion of animal cultures within the purview of anti-colonialism potentially diminish the struggles of those who are still fighting be recognized as full human beings, with rich cultures and claims to those cultures? In this chapter, Corman addresses mounting evidence—and potential implications—of the presence of cultural capacity across a variety of species.
