In this lecture sociologist David Redmalm will talk about pets and their liminal status in human society. He will show how thinking with pets can challenge ingrained stereotypical ideas about the distinction between nature and culture, and how this distinction shapes human and nonhuman lives. To show how pets can enable a more nuanced understanding of what we think of as nature and culture, David Redmalm will draw on a number of examples from his own research: Chihuahuas and their symbolic and material role in Western society, the media narrative of Obama family’s dog Bo Obama, pet cultural expressions of grief for lost pets, and the curious habits of the scaly anteater.