Captivations: Animal Geographies in Literature, Film, Media, and Culture
4th to 7th October 2027
Odense, Denmark
Captivations: Animal Geographies in Literature, Film, Media, and Culture
4-7 October 2027
Odense, Denmark
https://islanddynamics.org/conferences/captivations/
Theme
How do the physical and conceptual spaces we construct for animals shape the boundaries of human identity, science, and culture? While cultural narratives frequently map human journeys across untamed landscapes, the containment, categorisation, and display of animal life—in literature, folklore, zoos, maps, film, cat cafés, and other spaces of representation—reveal a complex geography of cross-species encounter.
This interdisciplinary conference investigates the symbolic, historical, and material enclosures that define human-animal relationships. We invite scholars to explore how humans have mapped, captured, and recontextualised the natural world, analysing the structures—mental, material, architectural, conceptual—that position animals as threats, spectacles, miracles, masters, companions, and dependents. How are animals kept alien or made familiar in works of literature and film? What roles do animals play in the construction of cultural narratives concerning the place of humanity in the world and the fate of humanity in the future? How are certain animals used as symbolic of nature or the wider environment (the adorable but vulnerable panda, the noble polar bear in a melting world, the insatiably inhuman great white shark)? How are animals alternately domesticated or made wild by cultural practices such as taxidermy, museum and zoo display, and the production of children’s toys? The conference is interdisciplinary but may be especially interesting for researchers from literature studies, folklore studies, human geography, the environmental humanities, history, film studies, and anthropology.
The conference takes place in Odense Zoo: a philosophically and landscape architecturally innovative space that creates the ideal framing for explorations of the (at times trangressible) lines people draw between the human and the non-human.
The conference is held in tandem with the companion conference ‘Fairytale Geographies: Folklore, Setting, and the Supernatural’ (https://islanddynamics.org/conferences/fairytalegeographies/). Delegates from one conference can attend the other, and delegates from both conferences can participate in two days of fairytale study trips and explorations in Odense and Copenhagen.
Abstract submission
If you wish to give a presentation at the conference, please submit your proposal via the abstract submission form: https://islanddynamics.org/abstractsubmission. Abstracts should be 150-200 words long and must not include citations or references. After submission, your proposal will be reviewed, and the organisers will respond with a decision as soon as possible. The earlier you submit your proposal, the earlier you will receive the decision. All presentations will be in English. The first deadline for abstracts is 28 February 2027 (permitting early registration).
Schedule
3 October: Arrival in Odense
4-5 October: Conference presentations at Odense Zoo
6 October: Study trip in Odense, including visits to the Hans Christian Andersen Museum and Hans Christian Andersen’s Childhood Home
7 October: Study trip in Copenhagen, including visit to Tivoli Gardens.
Publication opportunity & discount
This conference is organised in association with the peer reviewed, non-fee charging open access journal Folk, Knowledge, Place (https://folkknowledgeplace.org). Presenters are strongly encouraged to submit papers to the journal. When submitting, follow the instructions here. Although we strongly encourage article submissions, it is not necessary to submit a paper to the journal or to have a paper accepted for publication in order to participate in the conference. All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review and must follow the journal’s ordinary submission requirements. To learn more about journal publication, please contact co-Editor-in-Chief Adam Grydehøj (agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org).
Authors who have had a paper accepted for publication in the journal in the 12 months prior to the conference can register for the conference at half price (adjusted for each registration category) upon request. If you have already paid the registration fee, this portion of the registration fee can be refunded to you. For multiauthored papers, this discount is available to only one author.
Conference registration
In order to make the conference affordable to as many people as possible, we have created three registration packages:
Basic registration: Includes attendance at the conference presentations on 4-5 October. Includes all lunches and admission to Odense Zoo. Early registration fee: 700 Singapore Dollars.
Partial registration: Includes attendance at the conference presentations on 4-5 October and the Odense study trip on 6 October. Includes all lunches and admission to Odense Zoo, Hans Christian Andersen Museum, and Hans Christian Andersen’s Childhood Home. Early registration fee: 900 Singapore dollars.
Full registration: Includes attendance at the conference presentations on 4-5 October; the Odense study trip on 6 October; and the Copenhagen study trip on 7 October. Includes all lunches; Odense-Copenhagen train ticket; and admission to Odense Zoo, Hans Christian Andersen Museum, Hans Christian Andersen’s Childhood Home, and Tivoli Gardens. Early registration fee: 1100 Singapore dollars.
Registration does not include accommodation. The deadline for early registration form is 28 February 2027, after which fees on all registration categories will rise by 250 Singapore dollars. The final deadline for registration is 30 June 2027. To register, fill out the registration form here: https://islanddynamics.org/conferences/registration. Within the next day, you will be sent an invoice (payable by credit or debit card) using the information included in the registration form. Payment of the registration fee is due within 48 hours after you have received the invoice.
Travel and accommodation
The most convenient way of reaching Odense is to fly into Copenhagen or Billund in Denmark and then take the high-speed train. There are numerous hotels in Odense, but we recommend that delegates stay near Odense Station, from which it is a short walk to both the old medieval centre and train/bus connections to Odense Zoo. Milling Hotel Plaza is an option for those seeking a standard hotel experience, while Cabinn Odense offers tiny, basic rooms at a low price. For those following the conference to Copenhagen, we recommend a hotel near Tivoli Gardens and the Central station, such as ProfilHotels Copenhagen Plaza or the basic option of Cabinn City. The conference organisers can provide an invitation letter to be used for visa applications but can only do so after the registration fee has been paid.
Co-convenors: Adam Grydehøj (School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology) & Ping Su (School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology)
Organisers: Island Dynamics & School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology
Enquiries: agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org
Web address: https://islanddynamics.org/conferences/captivations/
4th to 7th October 2027
Odense, Denmark
Captivations: Animal Geographies in Literature, Film, Media, and Culture
4-7 October 2027
Odense, Denmark
https://islanddynamics.org/conferences/captivations/
Theme
How do the physical and conceptual spaces we construct for animals shape the boundaries of human identity, science, and culture? While cultural narratives frequently map human journeys across untamed landscapes, the containment, categorisation, and display of animal life—in literature, folklore, zoos, maps, film, cat cafés, and other spaces of representation—reveal a complex geography of cross-species encounter.
This interdisciplinary conference investigates the symbolic, historical, and material enclosures that define human-animal relationships. We invite scholars to explore how humans have mapped, captured, and recontextualised the natural world, analysing the structures—mental, material, architectural, conceptual—that position animals as threats, spectacles, miracles, masters, companions, and dependents. How are animals kept alien or made familiar in works of literature and film? What roles do animals play in the construction of cultural narratives concerning the place of humanity in the world and the fate of humanity in the future? How are certain animals used as symbolic of nature or the wider environment (the adorable but vulnerable panda, the noble polar bear in a melting world, the insatiably inhuman great white shark)? How are animals alternately domesticated or made wild by cultural practices such as taxidermy, museum and zoo display, and the production of children’s toys? The conference is interdisciplinary but may be especially interesting for researchers from literature studies, folklore studies, human geography, the environmental humanities, history, film studies, and anthropology.
The conference takes place in Odense Zoo: a philosophically and landscape architecturally innovative space that creates the ideal framing for explorations of the (at times trangressible) lines people draw between the human and the non-human.
The conference is held in tandem with the companion conference ‘Fairytale Geographies: Folklore, Setting, and the Supernatural’ (https://islanddynamics.org/conferences/fairytalegeographies/). Delegates from one conference can attend the other, and delegates from both conferences can participate in two days of fairytale study trips and explorations in Odense and Copenhagen.
Abstract submission
If you wish to give a presentation at the conference, please submit your proposal via the abstract submission form: https://islanddynamics.org/abstractsubmission. Abstracts should be 150-200 words long and must not include citations or references. After submission, your proposal will be reviewed, and the organisers will respond with a decision as soon as possible. The earlier you submit your proposal, the earlier you will receive the decision. All presentations will be in English. The first deadline for abstracts is 28 February 2027 (permitting early registration).
Schedule
3 October: Arrival in Odense
4-5 October: Conference presentations at Odense Zoo
6 October: Study trip in Odense, including visits to the Hans Christian Andersen Museum and Hans Christian Andersen’s Childhood Home
7 October: Study trip in Copenhagen, including visit to Tivoli Gardens.
Publication opportunity & discount
This conference is organised in association with the peer reviewed, non-fee charging open access journal Folk, Knowledge, Place (https://folkknowledgeplace.org). Presenters are strongly encouraged to submit papers to the journal. When submitting, follow the instructions here. Although we strongly encourage article submissions, it is not necessary to submit a paper to the journal or to have a paper accepted for publication in order to participate in the conference. All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review and must follow the journal’s ordinary submission requirements. To learn more about journal publication, please contact co-Editor-in-Chief Adam Grydehøj (agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org).
Authors who have had a paper accepted for publication in the journal in the 12 months prior to the conference can register for the conference at half price (adjusted for each registration category) upon request. If you have already paid the registration fee, this portion of the registration fee can be refunded to you. For multiauthored papers, this discount is available to only one author.
Conference registration
In order to make the conference affordable to as many people as possible, we have created three registration packages:
Basic registration: Includes attendance at the conference presentations on 4-5 October. Includes all lunches and admission to Odense Zoo. Early registration fee: 700 Singapore Dollars.
Partial registration: Includes attendance at the conference presentations on 4-5 October and the Odense study trip on 6 October. Includes all lunches and admission to Odense Zoo, Hans Christian Andersen Museum, and Hans Christian Andersen’s Childhood Home. Early registration fee: 900 Singapore dollars.
Full registration: Includes attendance at the conference presentations on 4-5 October; the Odense study trip on 6 October; and the Copenhagen study trip on 7 October. Includes all lunches; Odense-Copenhagen train ticket; and admission to Odense Zoo, Hans Christian Andersen Museum, Hans Christian Andersen’s Childhood Home, and Tivoli Gardens. Early registration fee: 1100 Singapore dollars.
Registration does not include accommodation. The deadline for early registration form is 28 February 2027, after which fees on all registration categories will rise by 250 Singapore dollars. The final deadline for registration is 30 June 2027. To register, fill out the registration form here: https://islanddynamics.org/conferences/registration. Within the next day, you will be sent an invoice (payable by credit or debit card) using the information included in the registration form. Payment of the registration fee is due within 48 hours after you have received the invoice.
Travel and accommodation
The most convenient way of reaching Odense is to fly into Copenhagen or Billund in Denmark and then take the high-speed train. There are numerous hotels in Odense, but we recommend that delegates stay near Odense Station, from which it is a short walk to both the old medieval centre and train/bus connections to Odense Zoo. Milling Hotel Plaza is an option for those seeking a standard hotel experience, while Cabinn Odense offers tiny, basic rooms at a low price. For those following the conference to Copenhagen, we recommend a hotel near Tivoli Gardens and the Central station, such as ProfilHotels Copenhagen Plaza or the basic option of Cabinn City. The conference organisers can provide an invitation letter to be used for visa applications but can only do so after the registration fee has been paid.
Co-convenors: Adam Grydehøj (School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology) & Ping Su (School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology)
Organisers: Island Dynamics & School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology
Enquiries: agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org
Web address: https://islanddynamics.org/conferences/captivations/
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