W&L’s Kharputly Publishes Article in Society & Animals Nadeen Kharputly recently published an article titled "Whose Best Friend? Muslims, Dogs, and the Making of American Humanity."

By Madeline Bussett '21
March 19, 2021

Nadeen Kharputly, visiting assistant professor of English at Washington and Lee University, recently published an article in Society & Animals titled “Whose Best Friend? Muslims, Dogs, and the Making of American Humanity.”

According to the abstract, “This article examines the relationship between Muslims, dogs and the constitution of American humanity. While existing scholarship has explored scriptural portrayals of dogs in Islam, the article focuses on the cultural effects of this perceived hostility towards dogs in the U.S. and situates this hostility within the legacy of canine abuse against bodies of color in the U.S. These historical links demonstrate the use of dogs in the dehumanization of communities of color in the U.S. and against Muslims specifically.”

Kharputly received her doctorate degree in literature from the University of California, San Diego and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Stanford University. Her research looks at 20th-and 21st-century multi-ethnic American literature and culture, representations of Islamophobia, race and responsibility in literary and cultural representation.

The entire article can be read here.

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