1.10 Interview with Tara Chambers / Andre Alexis’s Fifteen Dogs

Teachin’ Books is baaaaack! It appears it’s a new, but still garbage, year — yay?!

On today’s episode, I chat with my friend Tara Chambers about a novel we both teach in undergraduate classes: Fifteen Dogs by AndrĂ© Alexis.

Tara talks about teachin’ this novel in a class themed around the question “What is humanity?” or “What does it mean to be human?”, and I chat about teachin’ it in a class that deconstructs “nature vs. culture.” Also of note: Tara’s discussion of the novel in relation to “real-world dog biology” (poor phrasing mine) and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; my thoughts about reading the novel through its paratext and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave; and Tara’s essential question… should Heart of Darkness ever be taught again? XD

I hope you enjoy this chat!

The podcast music is by Dyalla Swain, whose work you can find here. The podcast graphics are by @muskrathands.

Email me at teachinbookspod@gmail.com or follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram @TeachinBooksPod. I post extra content, like audiograms and behind-the-scenes stuff, on both accounts, more frequently on Insta, so follow me there for more teachin’ books fun!

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**Read the transcript for this episode here.**