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).
Venue: University of Münster, Institute of Sinology and East Asian Studies, Schlaunstr. 2, 48143 Münster, Germany, Map
Accommodation: ibis budget, Herwarthstr. 8, 48143 Münster, Website
Contact and registration: 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
Programme
Thursday, 08 May 2025
Institute of Sinology and East Asian Studies
Welcome addresses 13:00-13:30 Anne Schmiedl, Reneé Krusche, and Kelsey Granger Opening Remarks by the Organisers Panel 1: Mythological Animals as Same/Other 13:30-14:00 Keith N. Knapp Bearing with Humans: The Animal Others of the Mythical Heroes Gun and Yu 14:00-14:30 Anne Schmiedl Same and/or Other? The Hare in Chinese Mythological Literature 14:30-15:00 Jeffrey Kotyk Anthropo-zoomorphic Forms in Chinese Astral Iconography 15:00-15:30 Coffee Break Panel 2: Conceptual Considerations 15:30-16:00 Marco Pouget Stewardship and Dominion: Animal-Related Offices in the Zhouli 16:00-16:30 Christopher S. Agnew Incommensurables? Comparing Human and Animal in the Work of Lü Kun (1536–1618) 16:30-17:00 Christopher K. Tong Animal Advocacy in Early Republican China 17:00-17:30 Coffee Break Panel 3: Animals as Resources 17:30-18:00 Liang Shuhao Our Animal, Our Resources: The Writing of Mongolian Species from Kuomintang and South Manchuria Railway Company 18:00-18:30 Huang Shan Uncovering the Origins of Musk: Deconstructing Historical Narratives and Geographic Misconceptions 19:30 Dinner
Caputo's, Königsstraße 49, 48143 Münster, Website [de]Friday, 09 May 2025
Institute of Sinology and East Asian Studies
Panel 4: Living with Animals 09:00-09:30 Frédéric Devienne Dogs Serving Humans According to Confucian Ideology: In the Light of Iconographic Materials 09:30-10:00 Lee Jisoo The Art and Science of Raising Pigeons: Yu Fei’an and Pigeon-Keeping Manuals in Republican China 10:00-10:30 Renée Krusche One Medicine for All? The Curious Historical Case of Veterinary Medicine in Late Imperial and 20th Century China 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break Panel 5: Animals as Same/Other in Times of Crisis 11:00-11:30 Duan Baihui Pests and Their Impacts on Humans: An Environmental History of Infectious Diseases During Mongol Invasions in East Asia 11:30-12:00 Andrea Boccardi Fantastic Beasts of the Okinawan War: War Narratives and Colonial Ambiguity in Teppō wo motta kijimunā (1996) 12:00-12:30 Yokoyama Kayo Animals as Vessels of Human Ideologies: Wartime Animal Protection in Japan and China 12:30-13:30 Lunch Panel 6: Animals as Same/Other in Literature 13:30-14:00 Rachel McVeigh Cranes Between Object and Subject in Medieval Chinese Poetry 14:00-14:30 Kerstin Storm Animals as Depictions of Aging in Chinese Poetry 14:30-15:00 Anna Lisa Beck Shark and/or Human: A Perspective on jiaoren 鮫人 in the Taiping yulan 太平御覽 15:00-15:30 Coffee Break Panel 7: Visual Animals as Same/Other 15:30-16:00 Allison Miller The Gaze of Animals in Western Han Bronze Sculpture 16:00-16:30 Abe Yukinobu Night Moths and Fireflies: New Visual Images of Night in the Six Dynasties 16:30-17:00 Joachim Boittout Animals in the City: Humans, Animals, and the Urban Environment in the Illustrated News from the Dianshizhai (Dianshizhai huabao 點石齋畫報) 18:00 Dinner
Mimigernaford, Bült 23, 48143 Münster, Website [de]Saturday, 10 May 2025
Allwetterzoo Münster
Sentruper Straße 315, 48161 Münster, Website [de]09:45 Meeting Point: Aaseeterrassen
Google Maps11:00-12:30 Susan Whitfield Keynote
The Horse in China: Always the Other?12:30-13:00 Open Discussion: Trajectories in Animal Studies in East Asian History 13:00-14:00 Lunch 14:00-15:00 Guided Tour: Westphalian Horse Museum
WebsiteThursday, 22 May 2025
Online Panel
14:00-14:30 Han Khuhyun From Lords of the Mountain to Goofy Roe Deer: Emotions, Wildlife, and Governance in Maoist Northeast China 14:30-15:00 Zhao Audrey Ke From Singing Insects to Fierce Warriors: Crickets and Human-Animal Relations in Late Imperial China 15:00-15:30 Coffee Break 15:30-16:00 Kelsey Granger Peach-blossom’s Lament: An Act of Dangerous Animal Loyalty in the Early Song Dynasty 16:00-16:30 Xie Zhuolun Coming to Terms with the “Demonized Other”: Animals and Animal Spirits in the Visual Narrative of a Soushan tu Painting Abstracts
Abstracts [PDF] - coming soon
Venue
University of Münster
Institute of Sinology and East Asian Studies
Schlaunstr. 2
48143 Münster
GermanyThe Institute is a 20-minute walk (1.5 km) from Münster (Westf.) main railway station.
The nearest bus stop, Tibusstr., can be reached in 6 minutes from the main railway station by bus lines 1, 5, 9, 15 and 16.