People and Other Animals
This MIT OpenCourseWare course traces how humans have related to other animals across history, from hunting and livestock domestication to laboratory research, zoos, circuses, and pet-keeping. Lectures and readings track shifting ideas about animal intelligence and agency, the moral obligations humans have claimed toward animals, and the legal and social limits placed on their use over time. Materials include the full syllabus, weekly reading assignments, and writing assignments; graduate students complete extra work beyond the undergraduate track. The course draws on historical case studies, from early domestication to modern animal experimentation and exotic animal display, to show how attitudes toward animals have changed alongside science, law, and culture. All materials are free to access through MIT OpenCourseWare, with no certificate offered.