Same and/or Other?
Animals in East Asian History
08–10 May 2025
Institute of Sinology and East Asian Studies, University of Münster
The workshop poses the overarching question of how humans and animals have been understood as Same and/or Other. It discusses human-animal relations in the context of East Asian history and is decidedly interdisciplinary in its approach; we invite contributions which approach this topic conceptually or with concrete case studies drawn from literary, philosophical, archeological, or other sources.
This workshop is organised by the Institute of Sinology and East Asian Studies at University of Münster (Schlaunstraße 2, 48143 Münster) in cooperation with the Chinese Animal Studies Network (CASN).
We look forward to receiving abstracts for presentations (250–300 words) by December 15th, 2024.
Successful applicants will be notified by the end of January 2025.
Please send abstracts to: casn2025@uni-muenster.de.
Call for Papers
Since the 1980s, research on animals has slowly gained traction. As Sandra Swart noted in 2007, "animals are roving the groves of Academe." A number of studies on the ways humans understand animals and on how animals actively shape human-animal relations have continued to be published in recent years. However, East Asia is still vastly underrepresented in such research.
This workshop contributes to closing this gap by discussing human-animal relations in the context of East Asian history. It poses the overarching question of how humans and animals have been understood as Same and/or Other in a variety of contexts. Were these two binary categories, or were these boundaries more porous than we imagine? This workshop is decidedly interdisciplinary in its approach; we invite contributions which approach this topic conceptually or with concrete case studies drawn from literary, philosophical, archeological, or other sources.
Possible topics include, but are by no means limited to the following questions:
- What does it mean to be ‘animal’ or ‘human’ from a philosophical standpoint? How are these categories defined, and are hierarchies inherent in these systematisations?
- How are tangible human interactions with animals structured across species borders? How do humans appropriate animals?
- How do animals as actors themselves influence this perception? How do questions of agency and reciprocity come into play?
- How do emotions, like sympathy, empathy, and fear, shape human-animal relations? Are these emotions shared or imagined through and with animals?
- How can human-animal hybrids and anthropomorphising in literature and art be situated in this context?
Format
This workshop is organised by the Institute of Sinology and East Asian Studies at University of Münster (Schlaunstraße 2, 48143 Münster) in cooperation with the Chinese Animal Studies Network (CASN). The workshop will take place from the 8th to 10th of May 2025. The workshop is intended as an in-person event, in select cases Zoom-participation will be considered. For successful applicants, accommodation for two nights will be organised and covered. Travel costs are to be covered by the applicants themselves.
Submission Guidelines
We look forward to receiving abstracts for presentations by December 15th, 2024. Abstracts should not exceed 250–300 words. Please also include the author’s name, affiliation, email contact, and a short biography. The conference language is English. Presentations should be 20 minutes in length. Successful applicants will be notified by the end of January.
Please send abstracts to: casn2025@uni-muenster.de.
We intend to publish a selection of the papers in an edited volume. The submission deadline for this volume will be announced at a later date.
Timeframe
• Deadline for abstract submissions: December 15, 2024
• Decision on submissions: January 31, 2025
• Workshop: May 08-10, 2025