{"id":304,"date":"2017-10-30T12:49:57","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T12:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/upgrade-kentanimalhumanitiesnetwork\/?page_id=304"},"modified":"2023-08-08T10:38:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T09:38:01","slug":"maritime-animals-conference","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/kentanimalhumanitiesnetwork\/maritime-animals-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Maritime Animals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maritime Animals was a two and half <\/strong>day conference organised by the Kent Animal Humanities network and supported by the Centre for Studies in the Long Eighteenth Century, the Centre for Victorian Literature and Culture, and the Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies in the School of English at the University of Kent that took place at the national Maritime museum, Greenwich from 25-27 April 2018. Information about the event and videos of keynote speeches are archived below.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keynote speakers<\/h3>\n

Thom van Dooren\u00a0 and William Gervase Clarence-Smith<\/h3>\n

Featuring films by Jessica Sarah Rinland<\/p>\n

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Napper the magpie mascot with Chum (?) the terrier, on board HMS Aurora (1913).\u00a0 \u00a9 National Maritime Museum, London.<\/p><\/div>\n

In maritime narratives of humans, ships and the sea, animals are too often absent, or marginalised in passing references, despite the fact that ships once carried, and were populated by, all kinds of animals. Horses, mules and other \u2018military\u2019 animals crossed the sea to their battlefields, while livestock were brought on-board to be killed and eaten. Sailors and passengers kept animal companions, ranging widely from cats and parrots to ferrets and monkeys. Animal stowaways, such as rats, termites and shipworms, did tremendous damage to ships\u2019 structures and stores, especially during the age of sail. Rats also emerge from the archives as seafarers, \u2018colonisers\u2019 and explorers alongside their human counterparts. Moreover, countless animals \u2013 seabirds, dolphins, porpoises, etc. \u2013 would visit and accompany ships, filling many sea narratives with the wonder of oceanic animal encounters.<\/p>\n

The conference seeks to shed fresh light on maritime history by placing animals centre stage. Papers are sought which uncover all aspects of animals\u2019 involvements (and entanglements) with ships and their activities. For instance, what roles did animals play in famous maritime episodes? What were the experiences of animals on board ships, and to what extent is it possible to recover them? \u00a0In what ways were managing, sharing with, and caring for, animals important concerns of ships\u2019 crews? What were the policies and procedures regarding keeping animals on board, and how did the presence of animals affect maritime practices?\u00a0 Moreover, the conference will explore the impact of sea-faring animals \u2013 whether political, economic, cultural, or environmental \u2013 as maritime activities have knitted the world ever more closely together. What roles have animals played in colonial encounters and voyages of discovery, for instance? And how have animals functioned as cultural agents as well as commodities?<\/p>\n

Liza Verity\u2019s Animals at Sea<\/em>\u00a0(2004),\u00a0a collection of animal photographs from the National Maritime Museum, has\u00a0demonstrated that\u00a0pets and animal mascots, affectionately regarded as shipmates, played a significant role in bringing a ship\u2019s human community together. The conference will build on this book, while also going beyond a focus on the role of animals in mediating human shipboard communities to explore animal and human relationships at sea more widely.\u200b We call upon the power of story-telling to repopulate maritime history with animals, by telling, and listening to, surprising stories about them.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Trotsky\u2019 the bear being lifted outboard for transfer to HMS Ajax from the Emperor of India, 1921. \u00a9 National Maritime Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

E-mail: K.Nagai@kent.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Download the CFP here: Maritime Animals (CFP)<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit the National Maritime Museum website:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/www.rmg.co.uk\/maritime-animals-telling-stories-animals-sea\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

‘Animals at sea’ display:\u00a0https:\/\/www.rmg.co.uk\/discover\/behind-the-scenes\/blog\/animals-sea\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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Thom van Dooren, ‘Voyaging with Snails: Stories from Hawaii’<\/h3>\n