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Press Release: Oxford Summer School to Celebrate the Pioneers of Animal Protection
21st September 2023
The ninth Annual Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School will be held at Merton College, Oxford, from 5-8 August, 2024 and the subject is Animal Thinkers: Celebrating the Pioneers of Ethical Sensitivity to Animals.
Ethical sensitivity to animals has been pioneered throughout the world by key individuals. Some of these, like Henry Bergh, William Wilberforce and John Wesley are well known, but most are not. The aim of the 2024 Summer School is to recognise the thinkers and doers – both historical and contemporary – who have made strides for animals, including the well-known, the lesser known, and even the unknown. We are not looking for eulogies, but rather for critical objective assessments of key figures.
By using the word “celebrating,” we do not intend an event of self-congratulation. Academics, of all people, should know how important it is to engage in critical analysis and appraisal. By exercising critical judgement, we do not denigrate the work of others, but rather pay it the full attention it deserves. So let us critically examine our history through the lens of individual pioneers, both fearlessly and objectively.
The Summer School is now in its ninth year. The 2023 Summer School attracted over 70 speakers and 150 attendees from all over the globe. Photos from the eighth Summer School can be found here. Short films on each of the previous Summer Schools can be viewed on the Centre’s website. For example, the Animals and Public Policy short film is here.
The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is inviting academics and intellectuals from all disciplines, including historians, biographers, philosophers, social scientists, psychologists, theologians, lawyers and anthropologists (plus other disciplines that have something to offer on the subject) to join them in recognising the pioneers of animal protection worldwide.
People wishing to put themselves forward as a speaker are asked to send abstracts, of no more than 150 words, of potential presentations to Clair Linzey at depdirector@oxfordanimalethics.com.
The deadline for submissions is 1st February 2024.
All selected papers will also be considered for publication in book form or in the Journal of Animal Ethics.
The Call for papers can be found here.
EDITOR’S NOTES:
Dr Clair Linzey and Dr Andrew Linzey are available for interview.
For more information, please contact Sophie Inglis: sophie@panpathic.com / 07815 860 082.
The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics
The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is an independent centre pioneering ethical perspectives on animals through academic research, teaching, and publication. The Centre comprises more than 100 academic Fellows worldwide.
Web: www.oxfordanimalethics.com/home
Instagram: @oxfordanimalethics
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@oxfordanimalethics
LinkedIn: Dr Clair Linzey – https://www.linkedin.com/in/clair-linzey-ab012272/