«Senza il cavallo la nostra storia sarebbe stata molto diversa». L’«animal history» e le nuove frontiere della storiografia

Historian Susan Nance describes animal history as a hot and controversial field. This essay reviews its literature, methods, challenges, and the potential for further development. Since the 1980s, the study of animal history has grown rapidly, particularly in the English-speaking world, and it is now positioned between historical research and animal studies. The field examines animals as subjects and agents who have shaped human societies. Key challenges facing the field include the identification of sources, the development of methodologies, and the definition of animal agency. Historians address these challenges by distinguishing subjectivity from agency and recognizing human-animal collaboration, thereby demonstrating that animals are more than mere objects of human use.