Susan McHugh’s 'Dog' Featured at AnimalFest 2015

Susan McHugh, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of English, gave two invited presentations at AnimalFest 2015, which was held July 18-19 in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Based on McHugh’s book Dog (2004), the first talk, held at the Beaty Museum of Biodiversity at the University of British Columbia (UBC), explored the challenges of writing a literary and cultural history of humanity’s best and oldest friend.

McHugh also gave a reading from Dog at the Vancouver Public Library, an iconic downtown building that is often used in mainstream film, including its portrayal as Starfleet Academy in the new Star Trek film series.

Sponsored by the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program at UBC, AnimalFest 2015 was a celebration of the award-winning Animal series published by Reaktion Books, of which Dog is one of the first volumes. Sixteen authors, hailing from five different countries, were present to represent the series, which has contracted 75 volumes to date. 

McHugh’s Dog has been translated into seven languages, including French, Spanish and Arabic.