Animals (the Forum)

Humans have always co-existed with animals, using them as tools, resources, and, more recently, companions. More abstractly, animals help us to understand ourselves; they are “good to think with” (Claude Lévi-Strauss). What roles do animals play in our understanding of issues as wide as ethics, art, friendship, and technology? And what does it mean for understanding ourselves if we seriously acknowledge our relationships with other animals? Coinciding with the publication of The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies, we will consider the relevance of animals to a wide range of contemporary concerns.

Speakers
John Ó Maoilearca, Professor of Film, Kingston University
Undine Sellbach, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Dundee
Lynn Turner, Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture, Goldsmiths, University of London

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, the Forum and Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London