Event overview
Research Cafés are free public talks in an accessible space. Refreshments are provided and we invite questions and discussion from the floor once both speakers have finished their talks.
'The long shadow of animal agriculture: life on farmed animal sanctuaries.' This talk summarises some of the findings from Sonia Turcotte's field research. They will discuss the complexities of animal-human relations on sanctuaries against the wider context of animal agriculture and explore some of the knotty entanglements of care and control. They will cover how sanctuaries present an idealised version of animal life, but in reality are fraught with tension and unextractable from current political structures of power.
Sonia Turcotte is an early career researcher. They have completed two MAs at Goldsmith: Critical and Creative Analysis and Ecology, Culture and Society. Their research focuses on animal-human relations, with a particular interest in animals within food systems.
'My dog loves to come to work!' Or does he? This talk introduces some of the key themes of Dr Mariam Motamedi Fraser's forthcoming book, Dog Politics, in which she questions the naturalisation of the dog-human ‘bond’ and explores some of the implications that follow, for dogs, when human love is conflated with dog welfare. She does this with reference to her experiences of working at Goldsmiths with Monk, the dog with whom she lives.
Dr Mariam Motamedi Fraser is a Reader in Sociology at Goldsmiths. She teaches two modules on animals: Thinking Animals at undergraduate level, and the Ethics and Politics of Animals at Masters level, which is a core course on the MA Ecologies, Theory & Culture programme.
'“Carnism” and the culture wars: digital vegan activism under communicative capitalism.' Veganism is one of the fastest growing social and cultural movements of our time. Like much of contemporary social life, our experience of veganism is mediated by the social platforms, whose algorithms fuel antagonism and make veganism a new front in the online culture wars. Greggs bakery trades barbs with Piers Morgan over its vegan sausage roll, vegan influencers promote their virtuous lifestyles in the face of vitriol from proud, “real American” meat lovers, and vegan activist groups hijack sponsored posts from burger bars to denounce “carnism”. This paper, drawing on detailed content analysis, interviews and digital ethnography, maps the vibrant digital vegan ecosystem and argues that, with its deliberately provocative mode and interventions at the level of popular culture, digital vegan activism is tailor-made for the social media age.
Dr Jacob Mukherjee is convener of MA Political Communications at Goldsmiths. He is currently writing a book on political parties in a social media age for Routledge. His research interests include social media, social movements and political theory.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jan 2024 | 1:00pm - 2:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
