In the Middle Ages, animals were everywhere: in the streets, the fields, the courts, and the churches. Yet it was during this period that the distinction between humans and other forms of life was first established.
How are our conceptions of the environment and our practices shaped by texts and images that are more than a millennium old?
In conjunction with Nina Laisné’s exhibition *Un monde renversé* (An Upside-Down World), meet Pierre-Olivier Dittmar, author of *L’invention de l’animal* (Gallimard, 2026), a historian, associate professor at EHESS, and holder of a chair in the history and anthropology of life.
How are our conceptions of the environment and our practices shaped by texts and images that are more than a millennium old?
In conjunction with Nina Laisné’s exhibition *Un monde renversé* (An Upside-Down World), meet Pierre-Olivier Dittmar, author of *L’invention de l’animal* (Gallimard, 2026), a historian, associate professor at EHESS, and holder of a chair in the history and anthropology of life.
This text was translated by an AI.
