The CfHAS research team working on the Pathways to Veganism project, funded by The Vegan Society, have completed the first stage of the project. The team have reported on the initial findings of a questionnaire completed by over 1600 survey participants. The questionnaire asked participants about their understanding of veganism and gathered insights into how non-vegans view the health and environmental aspects of a vegan lifestyle.

You can also download the final programme here and read the abstracts here

In late March 2017 we welcomed our first international visiting PhD student Karynn Capilé. Arriving from the Fluminense Federal University by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Karynn will be staying with CfHAS until July 2017. Her project is a media analysis of advertising in the Brazilian meat and dairy industry. She plans to add a comparative element with the UK during her time here. She also has interests in bioethics.

 

We are delighted to welcome Professor Jody Berland (York University, Canada) as a CfHAS Visiting Professor. Jody is Principal Investigator on the Digital Animalities project which is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Jody will deliver a research seminar paper ‘The animal is the medium: media history, medium theory, and the ghost of the giraffe’ on 5th April 2017.

The first meeting of the newly formed Edge Hill Vegans & Vegan Friends group on 3^rd February was a raging success, with ‘plant strong,’ Wirral-based, strength trainer Jason Elliott giving a talk on his experience becoming a vegan strength trainer to a room full of Edge Hill vegans and vegan curious people.

The new group has been created as part of the work of the Centre for Human Animal Studies, with a view to connecting vegan and vegan curious staff and students at Edge Hill University. The first meeting was held in conjunction with the university’s ‘Health and Wellbeing Day,’ hence Jason being perfect as a speaker.

Strength trainer Jason Elliott spoke about being vegan in the strength training world, and the importance of strength training for sedentary lifestyles. Attendees were also invited to bring food, as a potluck, so there was vegan chocolate tiffin, fruit and gram four omelette to munch on, as well as smoothies from David Crawford, who has a smoothie stall in The Hub.

Watch this space for more details about further meetings and presentations, and feel free to join the group on Facebook, below!

Edge Hill Vegans & Vegan Friends Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1666990243560582/

Jason Elliott website: http://www.personaltrainerwirral.com/

FILM AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 6th May 2016 A Cross-Disciplinary Symposium hosted by the School of Art, Media, and American Studies and the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia Friday 6th May 2016, 9am – 5.15pm, The Enterprise Centre, UEA Global climate change and environmental hazards are significant threats to the future of life on Earth. Recent scientific observations have shown the impact of anthropogenic activity on climate and highlighted the severity of projected changes on the environment. Effects will be felt through increases in weather extremes (storms, floods, landslides and droughts), compounded by the expansion of human populations into marginal ‘at risk’ areas. The use of film in documenting and communicating these impacts to a broad audience has grown substantially in recent years. This is attested to by the proliferation of green film festivals, increased production of public information films on environmental challenges, and the engagement of fiction film with environmental themes. Film has come to bridge the gap between environmental activists, educationalists, academics and the general public. This cross-disciplinary symposium focuses upon the intersection of film and environmentalism. Using the term ‘film’ in its broadest sense, to refer to moving image works that can be viewed via cinema, television or computer screens, we aim to foster knowledge exchange and generate dialogue between academics from the arts and humanities, philosophy, social and political sciences, and environmental sciences disciplines. We invite contributions that address any aspect concerned with the making and uses of film in relation to environmental issues. Topics might address, but are not limited to, the following: Climate Action and film Environmental film festivals Gender and the environmental film Risk communication and film Ethics and aesthetics in the Eco-Film Genre and/or narrative theory Issues of reception, affect, and impact Environmental politics and film Eco-critical approaches to film Eco-feminism and film Marketing and production Environmental film and public learning We invite 15-20 minute paper proposals, and are also happy to consider proposals for alternative presentation formats. Proposals should have a full title and a 100-200 word abstract and should be sent to Christine Cornea by email: C.Cornea@uea.ac.uk Deadline for proposals: 5pm Monday 29th February 2016 This symposium is being held as part of the programme for the Green Film Festival @ UEA research and engagement event, which will take place during the first week of May 2016. In partnership with the UK Green Film Festival, this event will include evening screenings of the 2016 festival winning  and an interactive exhibition, which contributors to the symposium are also welcome to attend. The symposium and all other Green Film Festival @ UEA events will be free to attend, but please be aware that we do not have funding to cover contributor travel and other expenses.