His work in animal studies began with his Ph.D. dissertation in American Studies at the University of Minnesota, which was entitled "To the Curious: The Cultural Work of Exhibitions of Exotic and Performing Animals in the Early American Republic." He frequently teaches the history of human-animal relationships in his History and American Studies courses and serves as the syllabus exchange editor and co-moderator of the H-Animal listserv (http://www.h-net.org/~animal/). He is currently working on the manuscript for Pig, his contribution to the Reaktion Books "Animal" series.