Reimbursement paperwork

Today I have spent quite some time doing paperwork in order to get reimbursed and compensated for my trips to Mexico City and Havana this January.

Predation paper given at MAC4

Today I presented my paper "The semiotics of predation and the Umwelten of large predators" in the session "Considering wildlife I" at the 4th international Minding Animals Conference, held in Mexico City. Some 12 people were present.

Day off at MAC4 - trip to Teotihuacán

Yesterday I went with a bunch of fellow MAC4 conference participants to Teotihuacán about an hour´s drive from Mexico City, to see the remnants of this ancient city.

Panel "Animals and philosophy" held at MAC4

Today I participated in the panel "Animals and philosophy", moderated by Andy Lamey and with the panel also including Dale Jamieson, Erin McKenna and Mylan Engel  Jr. The panel was attended by some 50 people.

 

Welcome reception for MAC4

Tonight I have attended the first couple of hours of the welcome reception of the 4th international Minding Animals Conference, which is held here in Mexico City January 17-24th. The reception took place at Hotel Royal Pedregal.

Heading for Mexico

I am about to board a plane heading for Amsterdam, after which I will transfer to a plane for Mexico City, where the 4th international Minding Animals Conference is held January 17-24th.

At the 4th international Minding Animals Conference (Mexico City January 17-24th), I have also been scheduled to take part in the panel session "Animals and Philosophy" on Saturday 20th of January at 12.00-13.30, along with Andy Lamey (moderator), Dale Jamieson, Jeff Sebo and Mylan Engel Jnr. See program as PDF.

Scheduled to speak 22nd and 23rd on MAC4 in Mexico City

Here is the program, with abstracts, for the 4th international Minding Animals Conference, to be held in Mexico City January 17-24th.

I have been scheduled to present on Monday 22th at 12.00-12.20 (The semiotics of predation and the Umwelten of large predators, in the session "Considering wildlife I") and Tuesday 23rd at 12.50-13.10 (The cultural semiotics of wolves and sheep, same session).

Two papers accepted for MAC4, Mexico City

I have been notified by the organizers of Minding Animals Conference 4, to take place in Mexico City January 17-24th, that my papers "The cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep" and "The semiotics of predation and the Umwelten of large predators" have been accepted for oral presentation at the conference.

Abstract for MAC4: "The cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep"

I have just submitted the abstract below to the organizers of Minding Animals Conference 4 (Mexico City, January 17-24th 2018).

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The cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep

Morten Tønnessen

University of Stavanger, Norway

Wolves and sheep go together – at least in the public mind. They are among the most widespread mammals of wild and domesticated species respectively. While the wolf is in several countries the most controversial large carnivore, it is also, and not coincidentally, the most symbolically laden Western carnivore. The wolf is a symbol of large carnivores, governmental interference in local issues, freedom and authenticity, evil, hunger, sexuality, etc. Sheep, on the other hand, represent among other things innocence and vulnerability (and, of course – food, wool and thus economic value).

The juxtaposition of the symbolism of wolves and sheep go all the way back to the Bible, if not even further. In the Bible, this archetypical opposition is only resolved in the vision of a new Earth and new Heavens, when, in this new paradise, “[t]he wolf and the lamb will feed together” (Isaiah 65:25). Meanwhile, everybody “knows” that wolves prey on sheep. However, many would be surprised to learn that in Norway, wolves over time only account for less than a tenth of depredation on sheep. This demonstrates the way in which people are informed not only by facts, but also by cultural imagery.

Familiarity with the cultural imagery of wolves and sheep is arguably a precondition for fully understanding the fierce human emotions that are invoked in social and political conflicts on wolf management and conservation. Although there are local variations, and even though imagery and symbolism can change over time, the “background noise”, as it were, of the historical cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep is significant practically wherever there are, or were, wolves.

Registered for MAC4, Mexico City

I have just registered for Minding Animals Conference 4, to be held in Mexico City in January 2017. this will be my third Minding Animals Conference.

To take part in "Philosophy and Animals" panel

In Bulletin 43 issued by Minding Animals International, I am listed as one of the panelists in the panel "Philosophy and Animals", which is to be held during Minding Animals Conference 4, in Mexico City in January 2018.

To take part in two panels at MAC4, Mexico City

I will take part in a panel on "Animals and philosophy", and another on "Animals, history and ethology" during Minding Animals Conference 4, which is to be held in Mexico City January 17-24th 2018.

Panel participation at MAC4?

I have signalled interest in taking part in three panels at Minding Animals Conference 4, to take place in Mexico City next January, particularly "Ecophilosophy".