The tenth Annual Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School will be held at Merton College, Oxford, from 4-7 August, 2025 and the subject is ‘The Ethics of Captivity’.
The Summer School, organised by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, is now calling for abstracts of possible presentations to be submitted by experts interested in speaking at the event.
Billions of animals are kept captive worldwide every year. The range of confinements include the use of animals in agriculture, fur farming, experimentation, aquaculture, fashion, breeding, and trade, as well as menageries, zoos, canned hunts, circuses, and aquariums.
The tenth Annual Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School will address fundamental questions: How many, if any, of these practices can be morally justified? Why should humans want to keep animals captive on such a vast scale? What harm is done to animals by denying them their basic desire to be free? What can be done legally, culturally, and politically to help humans move beyond this worldwide practice?
Academics worldwide, including historians, biologists, social scientists, legal scholars, psychologists, theologians, philosophers, veterinarians, as well as, professional animal protectionists, are invited to join the Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School to discuss this important, and, under-researched, area of moral enquiry.
Please send abstracts (no more than 150 words) of potential presentations by 3rd February 2025, to the Director of the Summer School, Dr Clair Linzey. More details here: https://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/summer-school/call-for-papers/
All selected papers will be considered for publication in a book volume or in the Journal of Animal Ethics.
The Summer School is now in its tenth year and annually attracts over 70 speakers and 150 attendees from all over the globe. Photos from the ninth Summer School can be found here: https://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/what-we-do/summer-school-galleries/summer-school-2024-animal-thinkers-celebrating-the-pioneers-of-ethical-sensitivity-to-animals/
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: https://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/what-we-do/animals-and-public-policy/.
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/