Human–Animal Studies Conference — 7–9 August 2018 Turku, Finland
The Finnish Society for Human-Animal Studies (YKES) is proud to organize the first international Human-Animal Studies conference held in Finland.
Keynote speakers are Erica Fudge (University of Strathclyde), Jamie Lorimer (University of Oxford) and Helena Telkänranta (University of Bristol and University of Helsinki)
The deadline for abstracts: February 28, 2018.
Conference website: https://uncommonworlds.wordpress.com/
Conference call:
Humans and other animals share spaces and create communities together. They touch each other in various symbolic and material ways, constantly crossing and redrawing communal, ethical and very practical boundaries. As of late, this multifarious renegotiation of human-animal relations has sparked intense debates both in the public arena and in academia.
For instance, Bruno Latour argues that the anthropocene (marking the massive human impact on ecosystems) creates a new territory in which traditional subject/object separations are no longer useful. What is called for is the transgressing or dissolving of these limits in order to “distribute agency as far and in as differentiated a way as possible” (Latour 2014, 16). Various inclusive, more-than-human notions, such as ‘cosmopolitics’ (Stengers 2010) or ’common worlds’ (Latour 2004) are brought forward to this end. These discussions highlight what is becoming a core challenge for various disciplines and fields of study: how to live together in complex places, spaces and societies, with intersecting and overlapping borders and traces of cultures, histories and politics. Furthermore, the discussions bring forth the question of how to work against the premises of exclusive human agency and interest in order to explore and imagine multispecies futures.
However, the various conceptualisations of inclusive, common worlds entail a risk of disregarding or devaluing that which is not shared: the aspects of multispecies lives that cannot be or become common but that nevertheless matter for shared existences. There is also the issue of becoming “common” – of territorialisations and inclusions of some beings to the exclusion of others. What will remain the “uncommon” (i.e. unconventional) in common worlds? Moreover, are common worlds envisaged as free of political struggles and borders? What are the politics of becoming common and remaining uncommon?
With this Call we invite you to discuss and develop ideas about human-animal worlds both common and uncommon. We invite presentations to this interdisciplinary conference from various fields, including but not limited to social sciences, law, arts and humanities, and natural and environmental sciences. We also invite artists to present their work. If you are interested in this option, please contact the organizers to discuss your ideas.
Submission guidelines
Please send your abstract (max. 250 words) by e-mail to uncommonworlds2018@gmail.com no later than February 28, 2018. Please include in your submission the title of your presentation, your name, affiliation, and contact information. We will notify you of acceptance on March 2017.
Conference costs and registration
Registration for the conference opens in March 2018.
Early bird registration fees (until 31 May 2018) are 110 Euros for members of the society, 130 Euros for non-members, and 90 Euros for students.
Late bird registration fees (until 31 July 2018) are 130 Euros for members of the society, 150 Euros for non-members, and 110 Euros for students.
The conference fee includes refreshments during the conference. Conference dinner is subject to an additional fee.
About the Finnish Society for Human–Animal Studies
The Finnish Society for Human–Animal Studies is a scientific association that brings together researchers in the multidisciplinary field of human–animal studies in Finland. Founded in 2009, the society has since organized six annual national human–animal studies conferences. The society is a member of the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. For more information, please visit: https://elaintutkimus.wordpress.com/finnish-society-for-human-animal-studies/.
Please feel free to circulate this to anyone who might be interested!