History paper

SAVAGES AND BEASTS TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT

Overview:

When you hear the term “zoo” (short for zoological garden), what comes to mind: a fun place for viewing wild animals, an archaic institution that has outlived its purpose, an urban garden, or perhaps a place for hanging out with friends? A survey of visitors would show that people hold a wide variety of opinions on zoos. In rare instances, zoos have failed some of the animals under their care (such as the elephant exhibits at the L.A. Zoo, which drew the ire of animal rights activists before they were permanently discontinued). But most persons entering the gates find that zoos can refresh one’s spirit, inform about the natural environment, entertain and call dedicated souls to action. And while humans have put together wildlife during ancient times and beyond, the very reasons for such collections have changed over time.

In Savages and Beasts, Nigel Rothfels looks carefully at the zoo as institution and public destination. He shows how our understanding of the purpose of zoos must be based in part on the larger cultural concerns of industrialized nations. The author challenges conventional histories of modern zoos (generally written by zoo directors), arguing that zoos are significantly entertainment in purpose (as well as serving as educational and scientific centers).

Rothfels’ book centers on the activities of Carl Hagenbeck, the founder of the first modern zoo. From a small ensemble of animals bought by his father and kept in the family backyard near Hamburg, Germany, Hagenbeck by the late nineteenth century became a world leader in utilizing wildlife for entertainment and educational purposes. But in time, Hagenbeck’s collections would also include a feature regarded as bizarre and demeaning by today’s standards--ethnographic shows of peoples from “wild,” exotic places. Although such shows, and the ways he collected animals, are no longer acceptable today, the physical design of zoos, the humane handling of wild fauna, and the zoo as sanctuary are but a few ways Hagenbeck’s world connects with ours.

Goals for this assignment:

This project, worth 35% of your grade, is designed to meet the following objectives:

· To explore the purposes and roles of zoos over time.

· To understand the emergence and development of animal welfare.

· To delve into the views and treatment by industrialized nations of the “exotic other.”

· To point out societal factors that shape academia.

· To learn how to use a key tool (Chicago Manual of Style) employed by historians.

· To uncover commonalities and points of difference we of the present time have with those in Hagenbeck’s era.

Instructions on content :

A completed paper will consist of at least four sections: an overall paper introduction (between ½ and one page), summation and analysis of one chapter (about two pages), summation and analysis of the next chapter (about two pages), and a brief (at least ½ page) overall assessment and reflection. Begin by furnishing an introduction of about two or three paragraphs, which will preview for the reader the content of your paper. In your introduction, briefly acknowledge the author and the name of the book, state (in one sentence) the core idea of the book, identify the chapters you’ve selected to summarize and analyze, and complete the introduction by stating that the final section will consist of your personal reflection and analysis.

To assist you in getting the most out of this text, please take a look at “paper’s organization,” indicated below. “Overall content” reveals the core ideas of a chapter. In “key points covered,” I have written down what I believe to be a number of important points you may wish to look for when reading, and items (a few, of your choice) to include when summarizing that chapter. “Questions to answer” are MANDATORY items to respond to when analyzing a chapter. Select at least two of the “questions to answer” for each chapter that you cover. Do not write out the “questions to answer” in your paper; simply respond to them.

The final section of your paper (“personal analysis and reflections”) is designed to allow you to give your own individual assessment about the issues central to this book. You must select at least one of the questions posed, adding any other comments you wish to make, too. It is vital that you support your statements with specific examples from Savages and Beasts. And although you are invited to add any additional (“outside”) sources in the personal analysis and reflections component, it’s essential that you keep coverage of additional sources to an absolute minimum, and only to strengthen your observations and comments on Savages and Beasts. Such additional sources MUST be acknowledged in citations to avoid plagiarism.

PERSONAL ANALYSIS AND REFLECTION QUESTIONS (Select at least one):

· What, to you, was one of the most important aspects you learned about the world of forming, operating and maintaining a zoo?

· What is one way (lifestyle or world view) that we of the twenty-first century are similar to the zoo professionals in this book?

· How do present-day westerners differ from those of German society over a century ago?

· In your opinion, did this book by Nigel Rothfels succeed or fail, in part or fully? How?

Extra credit is available for this term paper. If you decide to cover an additional (third) chapter, your grade will be elevated by 2/3 letter grade. Your paper would then consist of an introduction, three chapters to be covered and analyzed in detail, and one section of personal analysis and reflection (five sections total). The extra credit chapter will follow the same structure as the two required chapters: summation and analysis of that chapter.

PAPER’S ORGANIZATION

· Introduction: One page.

· Summation and analysis of one of the chapters: two pages.

· Summation and analysis of a second chapter: two pages.

· [Optional: extra credit] Summation and analysis of the extra credit chapter: two pages.

· Personal analysis and reflection: one-half page (or more)

It is important to write this paper using the appropriate voice. In a manner of speaking, the voice is the “narration” behind the written word. In general, the voice rule for academic papers is as follows: make use of conscious self-references (“In this paper, I will..” or “My views on this are…”) only within the introduction and the conclusion of a paper or a book. For detailed summarizing of content, however, avoid self-references. Instead of saying, for example, “I read that Carl Hagenbeck started his people shows with the Laplander exhibit,” you should say, “Carl Hagenbeck started his people shows with the Laplander exhibit.”

Instructions on technical aspects :

Here are the technical requirements for this assignment. The text of your paper should be about five pages long (or seven pages for extra credit) , double-spaced, with twelve-point font and one-inch margins. Please note : the citations (footnotes or endnotes) will add (in most cases) a page to the length. Be sure to paginate (number each page), and write both the class designation and the section number (History 110B, Sect. __) on the front page. An optional title page will not be included in the total number of pages. (A ten-page paper is not a title page and nine pages of content, for instance.) To indicate a new section, add about an inch between sections and include section headings (Introduction, chapter ___ content and analysis, chapter ___ content and analysis, personal analysis and reflection). Avoid large amounts of blank space between sections, as this is bad formatting! I am somewhat flexible as to the exact page count. But avoid extremes. A paper that is four or less pages (of text) will be too brief, but one of fifteen pages (of text) for two chapters of coverage will need to be trimmed. Please contact me before the very last minute if you face any problems regarding this assignment.

Citations:

All academic term papers require citations, acknowledgements that credit the authors of sources. Most of you will only be dealing with simpler citations, which identify the source and its author, and the exact place within a source where a specific idea can be found. (Less common are informational citations, ones that furnish additional details about a topic, but might not be immediately relevant to a particular point being made or would spoil the flow of writing.) Citations are the hallmark of academic integrity. Any assignment not having them will receive a failing grade for that assignment! A redo (for a one-letter grade penalty on the redo), may be available, at the discretion of the instructor.

Having too few citations can also get one into trouble. As a general rule, you should have a citation at the end of every paragraph (which corresponds to the end of coverage for one particular idea). Although a bibliography will not be required for either of the term papers, you will need endnotes or footnotes, done according to the guidelines of The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition (available in the reference section of any college library). Examples of the rules may also be located online, but show the online examples to me before proceeding!

DUE DATE: To avoid late penalties, please submit no later than 6 p.m., Thursday, October 12 , in my office (H-730K). Alternatively, you may turn in your term paper in the history department office (H-815F, which closes at 5 pm), but be sure to get the paper time/date stamped if you do. If you are not on campus that day, you may email your work, which must be received Thursday at 6. However, a hard copy that exactly matches what you emailed MUST be turned in by class time on October 17, or it will be counted late.

CHAPTER CONTENT AND QUESTIONS

Chapter 1, “Gardens of History“, pp. 13-43.

Overall content: Rothfels challenges progress emphasis of institutional (zoo) histories, arguing zoos are largely show business, also influenced by current-day societal factors.

Key points covered: Conventional (institutional) views justifying zoo existence; evolution from menageries (earlier animal collections) to modern (enlightened) zoos; competing views: zoos as educational centers vs. zoos as reflecting societal values and influences; zoos as protection centers for wild animals; zoos transitioning into entertainment centers; wild nature within civilized human settings; zoos as business and theater.

Questions to answer for chapter 1: How do present-day zoos (and other wild animal facilities) differentiate current-day zoos and what came before (menageries)? What does Rothfels say is wrong with institutional zoo histories? What is the main idea (thesis) that Rothfels claims about the history of zoos?

Chapter 2, “Catching Animals“, pp. 44-80.

Overall content: Chapter examines origins of Hagenbeck zoo, shifts in business strategies and tactics, changing methods and descriptions of wild animal handling.

Key points covered: Hagenbeck Sr.’s initial idea for a zoo; father’s interest in “reject” animals; business strategy: buying and selling wildlife; increasing profits by developing own supply (cutting out middlemen); types of animal catchers; logistical details (setting up trade stations, transporting animals, trust system, volume sales); shifts in descriptions on animal capture (bloody triumph to humane treatment); brute aspect of animal catching reflected general aspects of all colonial conquest; rise of reformist/humane hunters and zoo directors; field notes approach of professional catchers; Schulz and Hagenbeck portrayals as catcher/protectors of animals; shift to animal-centered depictions of animal suffering.

Questions to answer for chapter 2: How did the kernel of an idea about Hagenbeck’s animal collection get started? In what ways did commercial strategy and tactics change in the animal procurement business? What were the early stories of wild animal capture like, and how did these accounts change over time? What does this reveal about changes to public attitudes about the treatment of wild animals?

Chapter 3, “”Fabulous Animals”: Showing People“, pp. 81-142.

Overall content: Rothfels covers three broad categories: factors accounting for the success of Hagenbeck’s people shows; connections between scholarly studies in physical and cultural (ethnographic) anthropology and the people shows; and negative aspects of people shows.

Key points covered: Economic factors affecting Hagenbeck’s animal business; people exhibits as substitutes for animal shows; Laplander exhibit as model for other people shows; long-standing tradition of bringing back human specimens to Europe; Hagenbeck’s claim of “authentic culture” supported by academic community; newer trend of Western curiosity towards non-Western peoples; public gets tired of “fairground” primitives; anthropological studies on the cheap; emphasis on physical measurements in racial classifications (early physical anthropology); impact of photographing subjects on ethnographic methodology; aspects of traveling shows were problematic for serious ethnography; verifying material culture’s authenticity by having troop members inspect objects; types of items of greatest interest to ethnographers; biogenetic law: individual’s biological components (embryos) carried one’s culture; analyzing other societies by using the anthropological present; Terra del Fuego group as ultimate prehistoric people; supposed climatic toughness of primitive peoples when in Europe; culture and environmental determinism; Stone Age shows as living prehistory for scientific studies; stereotyping non-Western peoples increased business to shows but harmed scientific accuracy; Western public’s attraction to “erotic primitives”; use of people exhibits to justify colonial conquest and rule; link of genitalia/religion studies to scientific racism; harm to people exhibit performers: promote primitive, but no access to Western lifestyle.

Questions to answer for chapter 3: What led Hagenbeck to go into the business of exhibiting people? What did the scholarly community think about Hagenbeck’s people shows? Why were the Hagenbeck people shows so popular? In what aspects of humanity were scholars most interested? How did the Hagenbeck people shows affect serious scholarly studies? In what ways were the performers negatively affected by participation in the people shows?

Chapter 4, “Paradise“, pp. 143-188.

Overall content: Five main aspects of this chapter include: decline of people shows; Hagenbeck’s circus animal shows; shifts to humane treatment in training wild animals; innovations in zoo design; and zoos as animal sanctuaries.

Key points covered: Three reasons for ultimate failure of primitive people shows; zoo visitors tired of caged confinement of wild animals; new zoo design: rise of bar-less animal enclosures; rise of Hagenbeck’s circus animal shows; initial setbacks to circus animal shows; types of Hagenbeck circus animal shows at 1893 Chicago Columbian Exhibition; revolutionary shift to humane training of animals (partly from public sentiment); earlier, brutal forms of animal training with heroic trainers; creating railway access to the new zoo; economy of acclimatizing zoo animals to European weather, and not building expensive climate controlled buildings; panoramas as realistic settings, putting the viewer into nature; zoo professionals’ criticism of Hagenbeck’s zoo innovations; scientists’ criticisms of Hagenbeck exhibits’ inaccuracies; zoos as preservation centers for wild species under threat; zoos as sanctuaries and rest havens away from harsh urban life; wild animal pricing (factors determining monetary value).

Questions to answer for chapter 4: Why did Hagenbeck’s people shows ultimately fail? What led to innovations in zoo animal enclosures? What were the enclosures like? What special attractions could one see at Hagenbeck’s animal circus in Chicago in 1893? How did Hagenbeck’s methods of training wild animals differ from what came before? Why were some scientists critical of Hagenbeck’s animal displays? What does the end of chapter 4 say about the latest ways zoos help animals?

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