We invite you to take part in the Anthrozoology Symposium, Seventh Edition, Exploring Connections, Hierarchies and Transformations in more-than-human Worlds, organized by the Institute of Economic and Social Research Gh. Zane (Romanian Academy – Iași Branch), in association with the Faculty of Biology (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași), Faculty of Animal Sciences and Biotechnology (University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca), the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Ion Ionescu de la Brad University of Life Sciences of Iași), Rural Development Research Platform, and Moldavia’s History Museum (“Moldova” National Museum Complex).

Our planet constitutes an expansive, interconnected living web teeming with wonderful creatures that both inhabit and contribute to this richness. Existing within the Anthropocene era raises questions, issues, and challenges for humanity and our fellow earthlings beyond the human realm who share this planet. We acknowledge our role as agents of change, at times reshaping the world to an extent that results in pollution, a compromised atmosphere, and global warming. While we recognize the distinctive scale of our impact, we are not the sole contributors to change. Every inhabitant leaves its imprint on the world and landscape in this extensive network of life and interconnections.

Under the more-than-human expression lies a tremendous complexity that we are just starting to become aware of and interested in. We now know clearly that the myriad of species that share our planet live in their own Umwelt, defined by their specific sensory capacities, where our access is limited. Until recently, we favored our human-centered way of seeing the world; we saw ourselves as the peak and purpose of evolution. However, we slowly began to open toward different ways of being. Thinking about those whom we labeled irrelevant, inconsequential, or insignificant others – such as most non-human animals, and exploring their worlds has begun to change our perspective. Discovering our joint vulnerabilities, we are shifting our narratives from superiority to diversity.

Becoming keen explorers of these other beings and their complex worlds, we search and investigate the interconnections, hierarchies, and changes that affect us all. When we analyze the various and different ways in which all of us – humans and non-humans, are affected by these transformations, we ultimately re-discover our sense of belonging. We need to find ways to heal these connections, re-thinking affiliations, and re-discover our shared sources of sanity and balance. Looking beyond our anthropocentric ideologies, we may find that we underestimated our fellow earth dwellers to our detriment, missing the chance to understand how amazing nature truly is and discover our rightful place in it.

In this year’s edition of the Symposium, we invite you to explore the connections, metamorphoses, hierarchies, and all kinds of transformations that animate multispecies collectives and multi-layered more-than-human worlds. Understanding – or making an effort to understand the strangeness of the worlds that other beings inhabit, reminds us of how challenging it is to know other creatures. This effort demands humility, examining the limits of our knowledge, and making the conscious decision to move forward and learn to deal with our limitations, not on the expanse of our fellow creatures.

Within the Anthrozoology Symposium we would like to invite you to take part in a debate forum focused on – and not limited to, the following topics concerning the human-animal interactions:

• Ideas, concepts, and beliefs about animals
• Theories about the differences and distance between humans and animals
• Animal rights and human responsibilities
• Species extinction and human responsibility
• Animals in literature, mythology, art and folklore
• Animal psychology
• Cognitive ethology
• Mental models and economic value in human-animal interactions from a historic perspective
• Animal protection movement and the laws that support it

The Anthrozoology Symposium will take place online between the 7th and 9th of November 2024. Registration is open until May 30th by completing the form on our website at: www.anthrozoology.acadiasi.org or by sending an email to irina.anthrozoology@gmail.com. 

On behalf of the organizing committee,

PhD. Irina Frasin