Andrew Billing
Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Macalester College and author of Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing, specializing in 18th-century political thought, animals, and natural history.
Top 3 podcasts with Andrew Billing
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Feb 4, 2026 • 56min
Andrew Billing, "Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing" (Routledge, 2023)
Andrew Billing, Professor of French and Francophone Studies and author of Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science, explores how Rousseau, Diderot, La Mettrie, Quesnay, and Rétif weave animal imagery with Enlightenment science. He traces political zoology, Buffon’s influence, debates on anthropomorphism, machine metaphors in physiology and politics, and animal roles in economics, morality, and utopian fiction.
Feb 4, 2026 • 56min
Andrew Billing, "Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing" (Routledge, 2023)
Andrew Billing, Professor of French and Francophone Studies and author of Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing, maps how Rousseau, Diderot, La Mettrie, Quesnay, and Rétif use animal imagery and emerging zoology. Short takes cover Buffon’s influence, political zoology, anthropomorphism, organic and molecular metaphors, and animal-based models of economy, morality, and empire.
Feb 4, 2026 • 56min
Andrew Billing, "Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing" (Routledge, 2023)
Andrew Billing, Professor of French and Francophone Studies and author of Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing, explores political zoologies in the French Enlightenment. He traces animal references in Rousseau, Diderot, La Mettrie, Quesnay, and Rétif. Short, sharp discussions cover Buffon’s influence, biological metaphors in political theory, and surprising links between animals, economy, and liberal thought.
