American Animal Empire

This project investigates the formation of an “American Animal Empire” in the long nineteenth century, analyzing how animals shaped and were shaped by U.S. imperial expansion. By examining cases such as bison extermination, whale hunting, livestock breeding, and species acclimatization, it highlights the material and symbolic roles of animals in processes of colonization, nation-building, and ecological transformation. The study develops “animal imperialism” as a heuristic concept that links environmental change to intersecting histories of race, class, and gender.