ANIMALS & GENDER:
Exploring intersectional feminist questions
6 – 10 July, Amsterdam
The topic of the 11th Lova International Summer School centres around the question: what happens when gender studies meets the more-than-human? Are all animals a feminist issue? Because of the great interest in last year’s summer school, we will once again apply Lova’s signature gender lens to examine human-animal relations. While it seems that gender studies remains overwhelmingly humanistic, there is great value in studying gender and animals together (Taylor, 2024).
Drawing on gender studies, feminist anthropology, and human–animal studies, as well as practitioners’ insights, we aim to counterbalance the worrisome global tendencies and political climates in which feminist, intersectional, and more-than-human perspectives are increasingly under threat. There is an urgent need, and clear present-day relevance, to engage in these important conversations.
During the Summer School, we will scrutinize the implications of anthropocentric hierarchisation for non-human and human animals alike by considering the multiple dynamics, systems and mechanisms at work (e.g. animalisation, (de)personalisation, commodification, objectification, sexualisation and ‘gender-fication’). Hence, we recognize that speciesism is an interlocking system with inter-human “isms” (racism, sexism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, etc.). As such, the intersectional approach functions on multiple levels.
We will explore the representations and cultural imaginaries surrounding animals as subjects, objects, and references in public discourse, food culture, spatial organization, scientific practices, rituals, or companionships. In doing so, we for instance explore how human gender constructs strongly impact how people treat and perceive animals, and conversely, how popular representations of animals are often used to reinforce (conservative) claims about gender and sexuality in humans.
Through lectures, interactive workshops, and group discussions, the Summer School provides a platform for participants to critically and creatively reflect upon the attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions that societies hold about themselves, O/others, the geographies they inhabit, and the natural world in general – while also addressing the inherent challenge of truly understanding the lives and perspectives of other creatures.
We will focus on topics ranging from multispecies ethnography, to animal liberation and sanctuary movements, from capitalism to veganism, and from gendered, sexual and racial violence to feminist ethics of care.
Beyond examining the various ways feminists have responded to the patriarchal, hierarchical, and dualistic logics that contribute to the domination of women, ecosystems, and non-human animals, we also turn to the questions: How can we integrate more-than-human care and empathy, amplify multispecies voices, and reimagine human-animal relations altogether?
In addition to academic lectures, the program will include insights from people with practical knowledge and experience (professionals and activists), a body- and mind-focused workshop, and a walking tour through the city of Amsterdam. There will also be an optional excursion on Saturday the 11th (at your own travel expense) to an animal sanctuary in the Netherlands, for which you can register separately. This excursion is not part of the official program.
We work with a small group of maximum 15 people and adopt an anti-hierarchical atmosphere. We invite PhD, master’s, and bachelor’s students and lifelong learners with an interest in exploring human- animal relationships from a gender perspective to participate in this Summer School.
Organising committee
Organiser: Dr. Irene Arends (Independent researcher, in collaboration with CEDLA, University of Amsterdam).
Lova board members: Loes Oudenhuijsen & Lise Zurné (charis) and Ina Keuper (treasurer)
Tuition fee
€375: Self-funded participants
€495: Funded participants (e.g., covered by an organization or university)
This fee includes: lectures, workshops, vegan lunches and coffee/tea/refreshments.
Application
Please send a message to school@lovanetwork.org, including a few words on your motivation.
The deadline for application is the 1st of May. We will have a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 participants. Applications are considered on a rolling basis until all places are filled. Therefore, early application is advised.
Note that all lectures and workshops will be in English.
Schedule
The schedule runs approximately from 9.30 to 17.00 hours from Monday to Friday.
Venue
The summer school is hosted by the Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (CEDLA) at the University of Amsterdam, located right in the heart of the historical centre of Amsterdam, at Binnengasthuisstraat 46.