With the “Hear, Here” series, we aim to facilitate conversations around new research in the humanities. Faculty fellows at the Institute for the Humanities will discuss a part of their current project in a short talk followed by a Q & A session.

About this talk:
This lecture presents the early stages of a new research project on the role of animals in prison memoirs from Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Rather than offering definitive conclusions, the talk will outline a preliminary research agenda and explore how encounters with animals may have shaped experiences of captivity, survival, and humanity within carceral systems. I begin with a contemporary example from the United States, where incarcerated individuals in prison dog-training programs prepare service animals for people with disabilities, creating an unexpected relationship between imprisonment, care, rehabilitation, and the human–animal bond.

The lecture then places this phenomenon in historical perspective by examining memoirs and oral histories of political prisoners, Gulag survivors, and dissidents from Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. My goal is to identify recurring patterns and raise questions rather than present a finished interpretation. In these accounts, animals emerge as companions, witnesses, sources of comfort, reminders of life beyond prison walls, and reflections of prisoners' own vulnerability, while also occupying roles within systems of labor, deprivation, violence, and survival. The lecture aims to open a broader discussion about the place of animals in carceral history and suggest directions for future research.

Anna Müller is a 2026-27 Norman Freehling Visiting Faculty Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and U-M Dearborn Professor; Social Sciences.

Photo credit: Eastern State Penitentiary