The Department of Women's & Gender Studies is thrilled to announce our upcoming conference:

DECOLONIZING CRITICAL ANIMAL STUDIES, CRIPPING CRITICAL ANIMAL STUDIES

An international, interdisciplinary conference and exhibition.

21-23 JUNE 2016

This event has been organized by Chloë Taylor (Women's and Gender Studies), Michelle Meagher (Women's and Gender Studies), and Kelly Struthers Montford (Sociology and sessional instructor in Women's and Gender Studies). All presentations will be in the Humanities Centre and the exhibition will be on display in the FemLab (1-02A Assiniboia Hall) until early September.

Highlights of the conference include a plenary panel…
• on the topic of Decolonizing Critical Animal Studies with presentations by Kim TallBear (Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta), Dinesh Wadiwel (Human Rights and Socio-Legal Studies, University of Sydney), and Maneesha Deckha (Faculty of Law, University of Victoria) from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. on June 21.
• on the topic of Cripping Critical Animal Studies with presentations by Sunaura Taylor (Social and Cultural Studies, NYU), Stephanie Jenkins (Philosophy, Oregon State University), and A. Marie Houser (writer, editor, activist) from 10:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. on June 22.
• by Alison Kafer (Feminist Studies, Southwestern University) titled "Seeing Animals: Crip Reflections on the Work of Sunaura Taylor" from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. on June 22.
• on Indigenous Food Politics with presentations by Billy-Ray Belcourt (Comparative Literature, University of Alberta) and Margaret Robinson (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto) from 10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. on June 23.
• by Claire Jean Kim (Political Science, UC Irvine) titled "Taxonomies of Power" from 2:45 - 3:45 p.m. on June 23.

The conference also features presentations by several University of Alberta students:
• Brandon Kerfoot (English and Film Studies) will be presenting "Seals that Club Back: Animal Revenge in Alootook Ipellie's Arctic Dreams and Nightmares" from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. on June 22 (panel B).
• Samuella Jo Johnson (Women's and Gender Studies) will be presenting "Institutionalized Space: Dehumanization and the Masking of Violence" from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. on June 22 (panel C).
• James Harley (Women's and Gender Studies) will be presenting "The Trouble with Animal Rights: Emotion Work is Women's Work" from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. on June 22 (panel C).

This conference will also mark the opening of an exhibition of the art work of Sunaura Taylor, curated by Michelle Meagher (WGS, University of Alberta), which will be on display in the (Feminist Exhibition Space) in the Department of Women's and Gender Studies until early September. Given the tininess of this exhibition space, the opening on June 22 is restricted to conference presenters and organizers, however we will be having a closing event for the exhibit in September (date to be announced), and welcome you to come view the exhibit at your leisure later in June, July, or August. For information on the FemLab, visit: https://ualbertafemlab.wordpress.com/

Everyone is welcome to attend the conference presentations and plenary events on June 21, 22, and 23.

VIEW THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM HERE.

The Decolonizing Critical Animal Studies, Cripping Critical Animal Studies conference is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, The KULE Institute for Advanced Study, the Faculties of Arts and Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and the Departments of Women's and Gender Studies, Philosophy, and Sociology at the University of Alberta. We gratefully acknowledge this support.