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Territories and politics of animalities

Territoires et politiques des animalités

Critical animal geographies between domination and resistance

Géographies animales critiques entre domination et résistance

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Published on Friday, December 17, 2021

Abstract

Animal geographies are part of the social sciences research that question the relationship between humans and other animals. Often qualified as the study of "Human/Animal" relations, these scientific productions have been the object of cleavages since the emergence of theories-practices critical of both the speciesism of these scientific designations, and of a detachment of researchers from social struggles. Within a total liberation framework, Critical Animal Studies integrate animal exploitation with other forms of domination, demonstrating their consubstantiality and interdependence. This call for papers aims to enrich the reflections about and also the gestures carried in the antispeciesist geographies.

Announcement

Description of the theme of the session

Animal geographies are part of the social sciences research that question the relationship between humans and other animals. Often qualified as the study of "Human/Animal" relations, these scientific productions have been the object of cleavages since the emergence of theories-practices critical of both the speciesism of these scientific designations, and of a detachment of researchers from social struggles. Within a total liberation framework, Critical Animal Studies integrate animal exploitation with other forms of domination, demonstrating their consubstantiality and interdependence.

Critical - or antispeciesist animal geographies are concerned with understanding the spatial dimension of this domination. Questioning, condemning and fighting against the current place of farmed animals leads to multiple reflections whose effects can be analyzed through a “global-intimate” feminist framework. Regarding how spatial logics are used as a power-device, these geographies of domination are accompanied by geographies of resistance and liberation. As studies have shown (Wadiwel, Hribal, Colling), other animals resist in numerous ways, which can be seen in the technologies used to subjugate them. Animal agentivities are also the core of farmed animal sanctuaries where survivors are both vulnerable and empowered. These sites of multispecies ethnographies raise ethical issues regarding the co-construction of knowledge between farmed animals and their human accomplices through the notion of radical care.

Research topics and questions

This call for papers aims to enrich the reflections about and also the gestures carried in the antispeciesist geographies. The following tracks are proposed:

1/How does the debate on speciesist oppression manifest itself in research and what to do with these epistemopolitical fractures? How discourses about « animal welfare », « nature », or « animal labor » can be thought as element of a speciesist ideology.

2/How speciesism manifest spatially? What spatial arrangements are used to constrain animal bodies and subjectivities? How does space can be used as a power-device to oppress animalized beings? What are the spaces, places and territorities of animal exploitation?

3/How does the antispeciesist geography of sanctuaries adopt new perspectives on feminist notions such as vulnerability, care and solidarity? How do animals resist through space? What are the scales of this empowerment?

4/What methods should be developed in the spaces of domination as well as in those of liberation? What tools lead to an ethical and political multispecies ethnography? How does fieldwork question our privilege as human beings and as researchers? How do these fields invite us to opt for deeply affective, emotional, even visceral methodologies?

5/What about the call of Critical Animal Studies to become activists as well as researchers? How can we not lose ourselves in this reflexive effort? What can we tell about these lives that are not our own and why do we do it? What are the risk of "theorizing" a struggle and its protagonists?

Submission guidelines

The deadline for the abstract proposals is January 11th, 2022, without extension.

The announcement of the accepted abstracts is expected by January 21st, 2022.

Two types of sessions

Abstracts are possible in two formats:

  • Oral communication: Presentation will not exceed 15 minutes, in one of the working languages of the session (see the presentation sheet of the session to which you submit your proposal)
  • E-poster: If your e-poster proposal is accepted by the session organisers, e-poster format guidelines will be specified as soon as possible.

Abstracts should be submitted in English, French or Spanish.

The submission form should clearly indicate the working language(s) of the communication in accordance with languages selected for the session.

There will be no translation services during the sessions, unless the session organizers propose and provide it themselves.

The session organisers will evaluate and confirm (or not) they accept your proposal. Please make sure that you comply with the expectations expressed in the presentation sheet of the session you have chosen.

Please follow Instructions below for writing your abstract in the submission form:

  • Title: maximum of 255 characteres (spaces included)
  • Resume: Text should be a maximum of 2000 characters (spaces included)
  • Keywords: maximum of 5
  • References: maximum of 5

For further information about the call for abstracts, please contact us by email : contact@ugiparis2022.org

Selection

  • Julie Coumau, ATER Paris-Nanterre Université, Doctorante, laboratoire MÉDIATIONS, Sorbonne Université
  • Claire Camblain, Doctorante, Université de Genève, Département de géographie et environnement

Places

  • Paris, France (75)

Event attendance modalities

Hybrid event (on site and online)


Date(s)

  • Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Keywords

  • animal, antispécisme, domination, résistance, réflexivité

Contact(s)

  • Claire Camblain
    courriel : claire [dot] camblain [at] unige [dot] ch
  • Julie Coumau
    courriel : coumaujulie [at] gmail [dot] com

Reference Urls

Information source

  • Claire Camblain
    courriel : claire [dot] camblain [at] unige [dot] ch

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Territories and politics of animalities », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, December 17, 2021, https://doi.org/10.58079/17ww

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