CFP 2018 - Rethinking Animality


“The relations between humans and animals must change . . . both in the sense of an ‘ontological’ necessity and of an ‘ethical’ duty,” Jacques Derrida


The XXI century forces us to think again, in a radical way, about the human-animals relationship. Violence toward animals has rapidly taken place in the public debate: veganism, animal products, animal testing and animals right are now significant themes in the political ground. We are currently part of a deep social transformation that involves every cultural aspect of the Western world from science to literature: humanities, creative arts, and sciences are all shaken to its foundations.

In view of this, the CfP 2018 has the aim to give voice to a philosophical urgency of our time through an academic multidisciplinary encounter.

Dealing with the Animality means to redefine the anthropological paradigm of what is a human being beyond the Enlightenment frame. Thus, humankind becomes a permeable category for more-than-humans identities.

Moving beyond Arnold Gehlen, Max Scheler, and Helmuth Plessner, we must replace Philosophical Anthropology with Philosophy of Animality. In this perspective, humans are no longer an isolated ontological entity, but the results of a constant co-becoming, through hybridization, with other living beings. Therefore, to investigate "animality" means get rid of the all-embracing anthropocentric prejudice. After the prison of metaphysical humanism, other ways to relate to the other are possible. The first step toward this new web of beings must be a new Philosophy of Animality.

Several contemporary philosophies take into the account this frame: Posthumanism, Animals Politics, Environtmal Ethics and Ecology, Ecocritics, Ecofeminism, Multispecies Studies, Biopolitics, Ecofeminism, and so on...


We call every researcher of every discipline interested in Animal Studies to bring multidisciplinary contributions on the following topics:

  • Ontology of Animality
  • Philosophy of Corporeality
  • Phenomenology and Animality
  • Animal Ethics
  • Animal Politics
  • Posthumanism
  • Language and Animality
  • Philosophy of Mind and Animality
  • Religion and Animality
  • More than human Psychology
  • Esthetics and Animality
  • Body arts, Bioarts and Ecoarts
  • Animality and Cinematography
  • Literature on Animality
  • Ecocritics
  • Representation of Animality
  • Bio&Zopolitics


The accepted languages are English, Spanish, Italian, French, Catalan, Portuguese and Galician.

Talks maximum time: 25 minutes

Proposals e-mail: rethinkinganimality@gmail.com

Proposals must include this info:

  • Name and Institution
  • Abstract (400 words max.)
  • Short Academic Biography

Proposals must be sent in the following formats: .doc or .pdf


Deadline: May 31st

Notification of accepted proposals : July 15th

Publication of provisional program: 5th July

Registration Fee: 60 euros *

If the proposal is accepted, the registration fee can be paid by bank transfer to the following account of the Banca Prossima of Turin with the justification "animality_conference_name_surname":

Beneficiary: Gallinae in Fabula

IBAN: IT 72 A 03359 01600 100000149220

The deadline for this operation will be from the communication of the accepted proposals until: 1th of July

* All the money raised will go to the organization of the congress. The rest of the proceeds will go to non-profit organizations related to the defense and welfare of animals. For more informations see https://gallinaeinfabula.com/