An International
Multidisciplinary  
​Conference 

The conference gathers researches working in different disciplines to discuss the possibility of a radical change – social, economic, legal, environmental and, underlying all these, conceptual and ethical – in the relationship between humans and other animals. 
ABSTRACTS
ATTENDEES
DAYS
HOURS
Picture
An Interactive Online Conference (Photo: Pavel Herceg)
The question in the title refers to the possibilities, as well as the challenges, of radically re-configuring ways of thinking of and living with animals, in opposition to a dominant framework in which animals are taken primarily as resources for human benefit.

​The conference takes place over three days, in four panels divided thematically to mark key areas of enquiry related to this re-thinking and restructuring. Thus, the conference aims at combining the theoretical foundations of the problem with its practical aspects.
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Finally and importantly, the concept of ‘vegan’ used here is intended more broadly than what is common in public and academic debates, and still as very much open-ended. Veganism is understood as embracing the re-thinking of the human-animal relationship away from exploitation, in all of the forms which this relationship may take, without taking for granted the exclusion of any beneficial interaction with other animals, and in a way that is as holistic as possible. ​

Panels

The conference will take place over three days and across four panels, organised thematically to allow for multi-disciplinary ​cross-fertilization: ​
9 JUNE
Animal Value, Theory and Emotions
10 JUNE (MORNING)
Animal Perception, Representation and Art
10 JUNE (AFTERNOON)
Vegan Identities
11 JUNE
Consumption, Politics and Society​

Questions

The aim is to re-think the following domains of enquiry in light of the possibility of a radically different understanding of the role and value of other animals (the list is not exhaustive):
  • Theories and concepts (‘human’ vs ‘animal’, the specificity of species and of individuals, new conceptions of what counts as ‘food’, animal ethics theories in relation to veganism) 
  • Relationships (between humans and companion animals, ‘farmed’ animals, lab animals, and wild animals; historical change of such relationships; relationships among other animals; inter-species love and conflict)
  • The economy (locally and globally, small and large scale, conversion of animal-based businesses, veganism and capitalism, self-sufficiency, globalization)
  • Society and lifestyle (veganism as a social movement, vegan identity, animals as citizens/denizens, the social significance of food, animal-free clothing, entertainment without animal use)
  • The law (public policies respecting the right to access to a vegan diet in public services, consumer's rights, labelling, transparency and clear information, the difference between "eco-friendly" and vegan products, hotels/restaurants/transport companies' menus)
  • Diet and wellbeing (nutrition, health, how we eat and cook, vegan athletes, local and global diets, vegan junk food, fake meat) 
  • Nature (anthropocentrism vs biocentrism, climate change, environmental impact, biodiversity and ecosystems) 
  • The limits of the concept of veganism (what counts as animal exploitation, wild animals, medical procedures using animal parts/tested on animals, freeganism, palm oil, veganism in desert climates)

Our Sponsors

Institutional Organizers

The team

Scientific Committee:
Organising Committee: 
​
Silvia Panizza (University College Dublin)
Simone Pollo (La Sapienza, Rome) 

Università La Sapienza, Department of Philosophy, Rome, Itlay            |            [email protected]

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