Where did Curious George, a popular fictional “monkey” created by Margret and H.A. Rey, come from? In contemporary interpretations, his lineage is straightforward. In one version, Curious George is a reflection of his Jewish creators’ escape from Hitler-occupied Europe. In another, he is a metaphor—conscious or not—for the Middle Passage. But Curious George’s “ancestry” was much less anthropocentric. It recorded decades of human relationships with animals in captivity, be it in zoos, circuses, primatology exhibits and labs, or private homes in cities large and small. How can we begin to plot this genealogy, and what implications does it have for understanding the animal fictions that surround us?

Yuliya Komska is a writer and Associate Professor at Dartmouth College. Please join us for this interesting and engaging lecture.