Cultural Pluralism in the Zoopolis
The Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law, and Ethics research group (https:
Cultural Pluralism in the Zoopolis
Start Date
Friday May 22, 2026End Date
Monday March 23, 2026Time
8:00 am - 5:00 pmLocation
Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning, Kingston, OntarioThe Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law, and Ethics research group (https://animalpolitics.queensu.ca/) at Queen’s University is pleased to announce that we will be hosting an in-person workshop on “Cultural Pluralism in the Zoopolis” in Kingston on May 22-23, 2026. Research increasingly shows that animals share socially learned traditions—such as sperm whales’ distinctive communication systems, honeybees’ dance dialects, regional birdsong among honeyeaters, and herd-specific vocal accents in goats—suggesting that culture is not unique to humans. The workshop brings together scholars in animal ethics, political theory, legal philosophy, and philosophy of animal minds to explore the moral and political implications of recognizing animals as cultural beings, including questions about rights, justice, representation, and the governance of multispecies societies.
Speakers are Kristin Andrews, Eva Meijer, Steve Cooke, Jessica Pierce, Jessica Eisen, David Holroyd, Will Kymlicka, Sue Donaldson, Marriah Alcantara, Serrin Rutledge-Prior, and Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert. Their papers will be pre-circulated to those attending the workshop. Space is limited, but if you are interested in attending the workshop in person, please contact the organizers at animalculturesworkshop@gmail.com for further information.
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Dean Joseph
Dean Joseph
PhD Candidate
Philosophy Department
Dean Joseph is a doctoral candidate in the Philosophy Department at Queen’s University. His research focuses on the moral foundations of democracy and the political agency of dependent agents, including children, people with cognitive disabilities, and animals. His dissertation engages equality and autonomy arguments for democracy to explore the case for extending participation rights to dependent agents and the conditions for enabling meaningful co-authorship in a shared society. Dean’s research is supervised by Will Kymlicka and supported by a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship. In 2026, he will be a visiting doctoral researcher at the University of Arizona.
Meet Virginie
We are happy to introduce Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert, a new Postdoctoral
Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert
Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert
Postdoctoral and SSHRC Fellow
Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert began a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Philosophy at Queen’s University in 2025. During her stay at Queen’s, she will be working with Will Kymlicka on reciprocity in nonhuman animals and its implications for theories of justice. Her research project is funded by Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture (FRQSC). For the academic year 2025-2026, she is also a postdoctoral research associate in Philosophy at the University of Oxford. In 2025, Virginie completed a DPhil in Philosophy at the University of Oxford with the support of a Rhodes Scholarship and a doctoral scholarship from the Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture (FRQSC). Her thesis explored the possibility of recognizing some animals as moral agents. Her research interests include animal ethics, political theory, practical ethics, moral theory, and philosophy of emotion. She is also the author or co-author of two books on the history and philosophy of animal advocacy: Que veulent les véganes? La cause animale, de Platon au mouvement antispéciste (Fides, 2021, co-written with Alexia Renard) Au nom des animaux : l'histoire de la SPCA de Montréal (1869-2019) (Somme toute, 2019).
Animal Ethics Workshop
Start Date
Monday April 28, 2025End Date
Tuesday April 29, 2025Time
11:30 am - 3:45 pmLocation
VirtualOn the 28th and 29th of April 2025, The Research Group in Environmental and Animal Ethics (GRÉEA) and the Centre for Research in Ethics (CRÉ) are organizing a virtual workshop on key ethical issues concerning the moral responsibilities of human beings toward nonhuman animals.
Program
April 28, 2025
8:30-10:00 AM PT // 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET // 4:30-6:00 PM GMT
Richard Healey & Angie Pepper, “Against Interspecies Politics”
10:15-11:45 AM PT // 1:15 – 3:45 PM ET // 6:15 – 7:45 PM GMT
Will Gildea, “What Makes Us Matter: Sentience and (a Bit) Beyond”
April 29, 2025
8:30-10:00 AM PT // 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET // 4:30-6:00 PM GMT
Davide Pala & Matthew Perry, “Licencing Pet-keeping”
10:15-11:45 AM PT // 1:15 – 3:45 PM ET // 6:15 – 7:45 PM GMT
Angie Pepper, “Interspecies Companionship: Dominance, Desire, and Structural Injustice”
Please register here before April 16 to receive the zoom link as well as the papers that are to be read in advance of the workshop.
This event is organized and chaired by Kristin Voigt & Valéry Giroux.
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Upcoming Manuscript Workshop
Date
Saturday April 26, 20259:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location
Kingston (specifics to be confirmed)On Saturday, April 26, 2025, APPLE is hosting an in-person day-long workshop to discuss Jishnu Guha-Majumdar’s (partial) book manuscript entitled: An Infinite Scream Passing Through Nature.
Commentators are Stefan Dolgert (Brock), Lisa Guenther (Queen’s) and Dennis Papadopoulos (Seneca).This is an in-person event, and lunch is provided.
All are welcome, but space is limited. Please contact Jishnu if you are interested in attending (jgm12@queensu.ca). Attendees are expected to read three draft chapters under discussion.
All animals are interested: An account of interests as the basis of legal inclusion
Serrin Rutledge-Prior, postdoctoral fellow with A.P.P.L.E, presents a chapter titled “All animals are interested: An account of interests as the basis of legal inclusion” at a virtual meeting of the Animals in the Law and Humanities Working Group on the 18th of February 2025.
Animal Studies Reading Group Meeting
Date
Thursday February 13, 202511:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location
OnlineThe Animal Reading group will meet on Thursday February 13, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm EST.
We will read a pair of short articles:
- Erica von Essen, Martin Drenthan and Manisha Bhardwaj, “How fences communicate interspecies codes of conduct in the landscape: toward bidirectional communication?”, Wildlife Biology (2023)
- Hal Whitehead, “Sperm whale clans and human societies”, Royal Society Open Science (2024).
To find out more about the Animal Reading Group and to receive the link to attend, please contact Sue Donaldson.