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International Academic and Community Conference

on Animals and Society:

 

 

 

Conference Welcome        
Welcome to the Minding Animals Conference Website. We invite you to join us betwen 13 and 18 July, 2009, where you will be able to discuss, learn and consider the interrelationships between human and nonhuman animals.  

 

The conference will bring together animal theorists and scientists from a broad range of academic disciplines (see Themes & Programme), with representatives from nongovernment organisations, government officials from several nations and representatives from industry, to examine the interrelationships between human and nonhuman animals from cultural, historical, geographical, environmental, representational, moral, legal and political perspectives.

 

You can participate in the conference in many ways:

 

• Firstly, fill in the Expression of Interest in Attendance form on this website, which will entitle you to receive (with registrants) a regular conference e-Bulletin

• Attend one or more of the Pre-Conference Lecture Series in March, August, November or December, 2008, or in April, 2009

• Attend the Animals and Film Festival in July, 2009

• Come to one of the many exhibitions planned for July and August, 2009, celebrating Animals and Art

• Attend the Interfaith Service on 12 July, 2009

• Participate in the Protecting the Animals Seminar Series

• Attend the Public Lecture at the Newcastle Civic Theatre in the evening on 17 July, 2009, featuring a panel of five of our plenary speakers

• Join in our fantastic conference social programme

• Register for the conference in Newcastle where you will be able to hear our celebrated speakers, or participate in the many planned concurrent sessions, workshops and panel discussions, or visit our academic poster displays

• Attend the Conference Dinners and hear our guest speakers, including the esteemed Nobel Laureate Professor JM Coetzee, the renowned activist of the high seas, Captain Paul Watson and Jill Robinson MBE, the saviour of bears destined for bile farms in China and Vietnam

• And, if you represent a community group, such as an animal advocacy or environmental organisation, or a corporate body, you may wish to establish a conference display booth

• We would particularly like to invite students to submit abstracts for consideration. Your involvement will be an integral component of this conference

 

We would also like to see as many animal activists and advocates join us. In particular, we would encourage your input into the Protecting the Animals Seminar Series where you will be able to discuss your concerns with academics and other advocates.

 

So we hope to see you at the conference or at one of the many fantastic social events. We are sure that what we have planned will be a benchmark event in human nonhuman animals interrelationships and one not to miss!

 

Rod Bennison and Jill Bough

 

Conference Co-convenors
 

 

A preliminary/provisional programme can be found in this section of the website, whilst a more detailed programme will be released after abstracts have been reviewed and presenters contacted.  The final conference progamme will be provided to all Conference participants.

 

Have a look at the section entitled Conference Structure.  This section provides the rationale for the conference and a basic overview of the conference structure.

 

In the meantime, if you are considering coming to the conference and would like some idea of the conference themes and objectives, and disciplines and topics that will be discussed and considered, please continue to read the information provided under this section of the website.

 

Key Conference Dates

2009  
Fri 30 Jan Close of Abstracts
Fri 20 Feb Notification of Abstracts
Thu 26 Feb Close of Early Bird Registration 
April (TBC) Sixth Pre-Conference Lecture Series week
Fri 3 Jul Close of Online Registrations
Sun 12 Jul Registration commences
                    Pre-conference Social Programme
                    Animals in Film Event commences
                    Animals and Religion Interfaith Service
                    Welcome Reception
Mon 13 Jul  Conference formally commences 
                     Opening plenaries and keynote lectures 
                     International Animals and Society Groups Forum
                    Animals in Art Cocktail Reception I
Tue 14 Jul  Conference Sessions, Workshops & Poster Sessions
                    Protecting the Animal Seminal Series  
                    Animals in Art Cocktail Reception II
Wed 15 Jul  Conference Sessions, Workshops & Poster Sessions
                     Protecting the Animal Seminal Series
                     Conference Dinner
Thur 16 Jul  Conference Sessions, Workshops & Poster Sessions
                      Protecting the Animal Seminal Series
                      Animals in Art Cocktail Receptions III and IV
Fri 17 Jul  Conference Sessions, Workshops & Poster Sessions
                  Protecting the Animal Seminal Series
                  Public Lecture
Sat 18 Jul  Conference Sessions, Workshops & Closing plenaries
                   Protecting the Animal Seminal Series
                   Seminar Series Conference Dinner
Sun 19 Jul  Post-Conference Social Programme

 

 

 

The conference has six major themes and objectives:

• To reassess the relationship between the animal and environmental movements in light of climate change and other jointly-held threats and concerns

• To examine how humans identify and represent nonhuman animals in art, literature, music, science,and in the media and on film
• How, throughout history, the objectification of nonhuman animals and nature in science and society, religion and philosophy, has led to the abuse of nonhuman animals and how this has since been interpreted and evaluated

• To examine how the lives of humans and companion and domesticated nonhuman animals are intertwined, and how science, human and veterinary medicine utilise these important connections

• How the study of animals and society can better inform both the scientific study of animals and community activism and advocacy

 

and

 

• How science and community activism and advocacy can inform the study of nonhuman animals and society

 

 

  Panel sessions will be conducted with two or three panelists over an hour period, with at least a dedicated 15 minutes allocated for questions and discussion on the specific topic for consideration.

 

A call for those interested in panels was made in March 2008, in the Second Conference Newsletter.  A number of panel committees have since been established and include:

 

 Extinction and Imagination

• The Sociological Humanities Science Divides 

• Veterinary Science

• Wildlife Veterinary Science

• Zoos and Zoo Culture

• Wildlife and the City

• Animals and Education

• Animals and Religion

• Animals and the Political Process

• Animals throughout History

• Animals and Music and Zoomusicology
• Animals and Art
• Animals in Film
• Animals and Performance
• Animals in the Media and the Internet
• Global Media Space
• Animals and the Law
• National Animal Welfare Strategies 
• Continental Philosophy
• Animals and Feminism
• Animals and the GLBTQA Communities
• Animal Liberation, Rights and Welfare
• Elephants
• Primates
• Marine Mammals
• Animals in Literature (including possible panels on French Literature, American Literature, Australian Literature, Children's Literature, Renaissance and Modern European Literature, the Classics, Poetry, Science Fiction and 19th Century Literature)

 

If you would like to convene a panel, be part of a panel group, or present on a panel, please email the Conference Co-convenor at: rod.bennison@newcastle.edu.au

 

Further details will follow shortly.