Elhalafawy, A. (2023). Exploring Human-Animal Relations in William Bruce Cameron’s A Dog's Purpose: A Novel For Humans: A Critical Posthumanist Approach. CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 84(1), 109-129. doi: 10.21608/opde.2023.337474
Ayman I. Elhalafawy. "Exploring Human-Animal Relations in William Bruce Cameron’s A Dog's Purpose: A Novel For Humans: A Critical Posthumanist Approach". CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 84, 1, 2023, 109-129. doi: 10.21608/opde.2023.337474
Elhalafawy, A. (2023). 'Exploring Human-Animal Relations in William Bruce Cameron’s A Dog's Purpose: A Novel For Humans: A Critical Posthumanist Approach', CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 84(1), pp. 109-129. doi: 10.21608/opde.2023.337474
Elhalafawy, A. Exploring Human-Animal Relations in William Bruce Cameron’s A Dog's Purpose: A Novel For Humans: A Critical Posthumanist Approach. CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education, 2023; 84(1): 109-129. doi: 10.21608/opde.2023.337474
Exploring Human-Animal Relations in William Bruce Cameron’s A Dog's Purpose: A Novel For Humans: A Critical Posthumanist Approach
Associate Prof. of English Literature Faculty of Arts, Kafrelsheikh University
Abstract
This paper examines the critical concept of posthumanism through an analysis of William Bruce Cameron's novel A Dog's Purpose: A Novel For Humans (2010). Human-animal studies have the power to resist the supremacy of humanism. Thus, nonhuman animals are seen as a key participant in a challenge to humanism. They are also displayed as being the victims of anthropocentric humanism. Adopting an analytical approach, this paper is divided into two parts: theoretical and practical. Theoretically, posthumanism challenges the anthropocentric view of the world by decentering the human and acknowledging the agency and subjectivity of non-human beings, particularly animals. Practically, by focusing on the human-animal relations depicted in A Dog's Purpose, this study aims to explore how the novel disrupts traditional notions of human exceptionalism and highlights the interconnectedness between humans and animals. Through a posthuman lens, the paper investigates themes such as animal consciousness, empathy, and the ethical implications of human-animal interactions. Human-animal studies have the power to resist the supremacy of humanism.