June 20-21, 2023
New Approaches to Nonhuman Fables (Workshop 1)
This opening workshop will mark the official start of the project and set the agenda for the subsequent activities. It will feature papers by several key participants to explore new approaches to the genre.
Autumn 2023 / January 2024 (online)
Fabulous Species/Human-Animal Relationships (Workshop 2)
This second workshop will be in two parts. Firstly, there will be a session on a selection of fables in relation to a wide variety of human-animal relations, such as domestication, experimentation, extinction, and kinship. Secondly, we will discuss cultural, social, and scientific discourses about the chosen species, through readings of species-based fables.
2024
Global Fables (Workshop 3)
In the third workshop, we will explore the global tradition and circulation of fables by engaging with stories in many languages and from diverse cultures, including South Asian and Middle-Eastern fables, and transatlantic fables featuring tricksters such as Brer Rabbit and Anansi. We also consider contemporary reworkings of fables, and how these stories shed light on our understanding of other species and the entanglement of nonhumans in regional and global politics. Throughout the workshop, we will approach the fable as a vibrant living tradition, recognising the power of animal storytelling to address pressing issues such as the environmental crisis and other global challenges.
Science and Speculative Fables (Workshop 4)
In the final workshop, we will explore the role of the fable in understanding science and technology, ranging from science fiction to the intersections between fables and scientific knowledges. There will be sessions on sci-fi fables, digital media, such as video games and AI, as well as the influence of fables on the scientific imagination. We will consider the power of nonhuman fables and fabulation to address global issues, including climate change and the rapidly changing environmental conditions.
May 22-24, 2025 Final conference
Rethinking Fables in the Age of the Environmental Crisis
University of Kent, Canterbury, UK (and online)
Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
Vinciane Despret and Susan McHugh