Gruen Speaks at Minding Animals Conference in India

Lori Gruen, chair and professor of philosophy, was a distinguished guest speaker at the third Minding Animals Conference (MAC) in New Delhi, India on Dec. 7. Gruen also is professor of environmental studies, professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies.

During the conference, Gruen discussed “Entangled Empathy,” which is the topic of her most recent book.

Gruen notes “that we are already entangled in complex and life-altering relationships with other animals and argues for a version of empathy as a way of rethinking and practicing animal ethics.”

She also sat on a panel that discussed the state of the field of animal studies and led a workshop on “Feminism and Animals.”

The MAC is a conference held every three years and organized by Minding Animals International (MAI).  The MAI “has been designed to improve the status of nonhuman animals and alleviate nonhuman animal exploitation by facilitating research and discourse among scholars, students, artists, activists, advocates (and members of the general population) in the trans-disciplinary field of animal studies.  MAI’s main objectives are to further the development of nonhuman animal studies internationally and to help establish legal and moral protections for nonhuman animals.”

Gruen shared some of her pictures from her trip to New Dehli: