May202016
Workshops Animals, Law & Religion
A conversation among scholars about how different religious traditions approach the interrelated topics of animals, ethics, and law.
Event Overview
The goal of this two-day workshop on May 20 and 21, 2016, was to foster a conversation among scholars about how different religious traditions approach the interrelated topics of animals, ethics, and law. The workshop was informal, generative, and creative.
Workshop participants circulated a paper in advance so that the meeting could focus on discussion. Papers were a maximum length of about ten double-spaced pages.
In order to foster an interdisciplinary discussion, the papers provided both a brief introductory overview of the study of animals in the participants area of expertise and an example of their own scholarship (and ideally of a work in progress).
The purpose of these short and informal overviews was to provide participants from different fields with at least some background before the meeting. For example, an account of the relevant scholarship in their field, along with strengths, weaknesses and gaps; how the scholarship relates to other fields; or questions that seem to be at the center of the scholarship in their area.