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Malamud, Randy. Reading Zoos: Representations of Animals and Captivity. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
Through an examination of modern depictions of zoos, Reading Zoos presents a paradigm of how these institutions, and a range of reactions to them, illuminate the workings of our cultural sensibilities. The book explores how the nature of zoos and their significance to cultural consumers is portrayed in over 100 works. It explores what animals’ captivity signifies about the people who create, maintain and patronize zoos: Malamud argues that zoos represent a cultural danger, a deadening of our sensibilities, because the institutions rather than fostering an appreciation for animals’ attributes convince spectators that people are the imperial species. (Text from Palgrave Connect)
Dr. Randy Malamud is Chair of Modern Literature, Ecocriticism, and Cultural Studies at Georgia State University.