In recent decades the humanities and social sciences have undergone an 'animal turn', an efflorescence of interdisciplinary scholarship which is fresh and challenging because its practitioners consider humans as animals amongst other animals, while refusing to do so from an exclusively or necessarily biological point of view. Knowing Animals showcases original explorations of the 'animal turn' by new and eminent scholars in philosophy, literary criticism, art history and cultural studies. The essays collected here describe a lively bestiary of cultural organisms, whose flesh is (at...

David Lynch is no stranger to scholars, critics and fans. From his first feature Eraserhead (1977), Lynch's films present us with a provocative world of weirdness and fantasy. Most work on Lynch uses a specific lens to assess his work, whether it's looking at the religious undertones to his films or his influence of music to his soundtracks. Laurence Simmons' work fills an important gap in the scholarship by looking at the acclaimed and influential director from all angles. Structured to meet the needs of both the student and scholar, Simmons' volume situates Lynch within his historical and...