‘Thinking Through Animals’

What:  

The 42nd annual Cal State Fullerton Philosophy Symposium focuses on “Thinking Through Animals.” The two-day event is free and open to the public.

When:  

April 12-13
9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 12
10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 13

Where:   

Cal State Fullerton, Titan Student Union's Portola Pavilion
800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, 92831

Why:  

“The ethical and political status of animals, as well as the nature of our increasingly complicated interactions with animals, are fast becoming some of the most important questions for scholars in the humanities and social sciences, as well as for the public at large,” says Matthew Calarco, associate professor of philosophy and symposium organizer. “The aim of this conference is to bring together a team of multidisciplinary scholars and students to explore these and other issues involving animals from a wide variety of perspectives.”

Schedule:

Thursday, April 12

9 a.m.  “An Overwhelming and Overriding Risk to Man” is presented by CSUF alumnus James Goebel (B.A. philosophy '11), graduate student in comparative literature at UC Irvine.

10:15 a.m.  “Mass Killings of Pigs and the Challenge of Multispecies Justice” is presented by Brett Mizelle, associate professor of history and director of the American studies program at Cal State Long Beach.

1:30 p.m.  “Animal Atrocity Witness” is presented by David L. Clark, professor of English and cultural studies at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

3:15 p.m.  “The Means of Animal Pathos at the Ends of the Earth” is presented by Nicole Shukin, associate professor of English and director of the interdisciplinary graduate program in cultural, social and political thought at the University of Victoria.

Friday, April 13

10 a.m.  “Who Came Before the Absent Referent?” is presented by Carol J. Adams, author of  “The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory” (Continuum International, 1990).

1:30 p.m.  “Falling Towards the Heights: Veganism, Worldliness and the Shape of Animal Ethics” is presented by Anat Pick, senior lecturer and program leader for film and video at the University of East London and author of “Creaturely Poetics: Animality and Vulnerability in Literature and Film” (Columbia University Press, 2011).

3:15 p.m.  “Poetics of the Monstrous: Companion Species Ethics” is presented by Eduardo Mendieta, professor of philosophy and masters program director at Stony Brook University.

Parking:  

$2 per hour or $8 for a daily permit. Details available online: http://parking.fullerton.edu/visitors

Website:  

http://philosophy.fullerton.edu/42ndSymposium.html

Media Contacts:
   

Matthew Calarco, Philosophy, 657-278-5166 or mcalarco@fullerton.edu
Mimi Ko Cruz, 657-278-7586 or mkocruz@fullerton.edu