lo Squaderno (Dec 2016)
Giraffe™: Animals and keepers between high nature and urban popular culture in the history of Zoological Gardens
Abstract
The Zoological Garden as a special form of modern keeping of animals is a thoroughly urban phenomenon. It can only be properly understood within the context of urban cultural practices, economies and popular amusement industry that have accompanied zoo animals’ lives ever since. In mid-19th century Europe, zoos were established as bourgeois spaces in big cities and symbolized civilized distinctiveness featuring ideals of education and reasonable recreational activities.
