Conference is approaching...

Dear Colleagues,

We are one week ahead of the forthcoming conference. Once again, thank you  for the response. I wish we come up with valuable insights and provide the materials for an excellent publication. Thus, please make sure the presentations are accompanied with the papers. 

Needless to say, we should be able to provide you with an overhead  projector, a sound system and the like. Should you wish to make use of  other facilities please let us know beforehand. We hope you will not  object recording the conference. 

I am glad to inform you we have booked you all in a hotel right in the heart of the city and in a walking distance from both the Old Town and the  conference venue. Upon arrival please head to Hotel Harenda at KraConkowskie Przedmieście 4/6 (not Hotel Hera, as previously mentioned).

Those of you traveling by air are advised to call a taxi 19191 or (22)  811-11-11 and ask them to pick you up straight from the arrivals terminal. They do speak English. While waiting please resist the wooing of private  taxi-drivers, unless you are willing to triple the charge on an unguided sightseeing tour.

All conference lectures will take place at the Institute for  Interdisciplinary Studies "Artes Liberales" Warsaw University, on Dobra 72.

One of the changes in the updated conference program is that due to an  illness we will not be having prof. Louis Shea but prof. Tadeusz Sławek  who agreed to join the conference last minute. Thank you.

Also, let me thank those who agreed to moderate our discussions and  panels. Their names shine bright in the attached program.

At the closing of the conference we would like you join an open debate to  come up with conclusions and envisage actions we may take in the future.  Indeed, we feel this is just a beginning. 

On the second day of the conference, on Friday at 8 pm, we invite all  speakers to a conference dinner at Surya Restaurant (Address: ul. Wałowa 3  00-211 Warsaw) http://www.restauracja-surya. 

I wish you all arrive safely to your destination, 

Szymon Wróbel

Letter from the Organizers

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to inform you that organization of our conference The Experience of Animality in Culture, Science and Daily Life has reached its final stage.

Please find attached a Preliminary Program of the Conference and a set of abstracts for the scheduled presentations. Due to a large number of interesting proposals, we decided to extend the conference by one day; it will now be held from October 11 to 13. In spite of the extension and rigorous screening, we had to opt for a very tight schedule. Still, we hope that you’ll find the program exciting and decide to attend the conference. You are also invited to submit your texts for publication in a post-conference volume. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for sending the abstracts and apologize for not being able to include them all.

Presentations have been grouped into following sections: Human-Animal Relationship, Animal Ethics, Animals in Literature, Animals in Art and Culture, Animals in Religion and Theology, Animals and Political Philosophy. The headings are conventional and designed to introduce order into the diversity of topics. I hope you will accept this arrangement as well as our agenda.

Please confirm your participation in the conference and verify the title of your presentation. Due to the number of participants the conference organizers will not able to assume all expenses but only travel and accommodation costs for specifically invited guests and keynote speakers.  Such guests, if travelling by air, are requested to book economy flights as only those will be refunded. Other speakers are asked to seek funds for accommodation and travel from other sources. In your confirmation e-mail please include the length of your stay in Warsaw for the purpose of booking hotel rooms. The conference features an official dinner for all speakers on Friday October 12. All speakers are also invited to lunches on the three conference days. Please let us know in advance whether you shall require vegetarian meals. I hope you find these arrangements convenient.

Presentations of keynote lecturers are not expected to exceed 40 minutes, with an additional 10 min. set aside for discussion. The time limit for the other speakers had to be reduced to 15 min. with 10 min set aside for discussion after each paper, followed by a 5- min. break. Please make sure to conform to these constraints, otherwise the time for discussion would have to be reduced.

All conference lectures will take place at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies "Artes Liberales" University of Warsaw, located on Dobra St. 72. The guests will be staying at the Hotel Harenda, Krakowskie Przedmieście 4/6, Phone: 22 826 00 71. 

I hope you will find the conference program rich, interesting and worth the effort. Following the receipt of individual confirmations and prior to welcoming you in Warsaw, I will provide you with further information concerning our conference.

Looking very much forward to welcoming you in Warsaw in October,

Szymon Wróbel