{"id":3470,"date":"2026-05-12T11:41:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/?post_type=podcast&#038;p=3470"},"modified":"2026-05-12T11:41:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:41:41","slug":"bob-mckay-anthropofugal-fictions","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/podcast\/bob-mckay-anthropofugal-fictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob McKay &#8211; Anthropofugal Fictions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robert (Bob) McKay, Professor of Contemporary Literature at University of Sheffield (UK), discussed his book\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/edinburghuniversitypress.com\/book-anthropofugal-fictions.html\">Anthropofugal Fictions: Literature, Species Politics and Flight from Humanity<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(Edinburgh University Press, 2026) in the Greenhouse environmental humanities book talk series on Monday, 11 May 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This book traces a radical politics of species across the work of four significant Anglophone authors of the late twentieth century: Brigid Brophy, Alice Walker, J.M. Coetzee and David Foster Wallace. Presenting an exciting and original perspective, Robert McKay argues that these literary figures tell&nbsp;<em>anthropofugal&nbsp;<\/em>stories, in which a tendency towards animals coincides with a desire to flee from humanity. Their writing disavows allegiance to humanity\u2019s various guises and ideals, dismissing human distinctiveness and disturbing human privilege to reimagine life with so-called animals. While deeply grounded in the practice of literary close reading,&nbsp;<em>Anthropofugal Fictions&nbsp;<\/em>is also a work of philosophy and theory that shows how doubts about species identity lie at the heart of live debates about gender, sexuality, race and ethics. It is a challenging and provocative account of what it means&nbsp;<em>not&nbsp;<\/em>to be human, and of living amongst animals without species difference as a legitimation of one\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robert (Bob) McKay, Professor of Contemporary Literature at University of Sheffield (UK), discussed his book\u00a0Anthropofugal Fictions: Literature, Species Politics and Flight from Humanity\u00a0(Edinburgh University Press, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-05-11-McKay.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-05-11-McKay_pod-scaled.jpg","cover_image_id":"3472","duration":"00:57:11","filesize":"46.38M","filesize_raw":"48631490","date_recorded":"2026-05-11 13:39:00","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"10","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"7","itunes_episode_type":"full"},"tags":[17,18,27],"series":[16],"class_list":["post-3470","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","hentry","tag-books","tag-environment","tag-literature","series-greenhouse-environmental-humanities-book-talks"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-05-11-McKay_pod-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/podcast-download\/3470\/bob-mckay-anthropofugal-fictions","player_link":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/podcast-player\/3470\/bob-mckay-anthropofugal-fictions","audio_player":"<a class=\"wp-embedded-audio\" href=\"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/podcast-player\/3470\/bob-mckay-anthropofugal-fictions\">https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/podcast-player\/3470\/bob-mckay-anthropofugal-fictions<\/a>","episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/greenhouse-environmental-humanities-book-talks\/id1664960759","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/feed\/podcast\/greenhouse-environmental-humanities-book-talks\/","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0TNTSCl3zRBues4Eqjkwwm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/feed\/podcast\/greenhouse-environmental-humanities-book-talks","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"EmmhtwIx2T\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/podcast\/bob-mckay-anthropofugal-fictions\/\">Bob McKay &#8211; Anthropofugal Fictions<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/newnatures.org\/greenhouse\/podcast\/bob-mckay-anthropofugal-fictions\/embed\/#?secret=EmmhtwIx2T\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Bob McKay &#8211; Anthropofugal Fictions&#8221; &#8212; The Greenhouse Book Talks\" data-secret=\"EmmhtwIx2T\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! 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