Sona Kalafusova and Zipporah Weisberg present a lecture as part of the 2026 VAS Summer Lecture Series. On the 9th of April 2026, Zipporah Weisberg and Sona Kalafusova presented a lecture as part of the Vienna Animal Studies summer lecture series, with the aim to explore how animals in sanctuaries are legally defined and what opportunities exist for enhancing their status and protections. They started with a provocative story, a story about pigs at the Progetto Cuori Liberi (

On March 2 nd , Spanish philosopher Susana Monsó gave a fascinating talk at the Vetmeduni about her book “ Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death ,” whose German translation “ Das Schweigen der Schimpansen: Wie Tiere den Tod verstehen ” was recently awarded Austria's 2026 “Science Book of the Year ” in the category of science/technology by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research. [1] Drawing on the fields of comparative thanatology and the philos

In her recent talk ‘ Animal Futures in an Economy of Cultivated Meat ,’ Dr. Arianna Ferrari, ethicist and philosopher of science and technology from the Centre for Innovation Systems and Policy, laid bare the complexities and challenges surrounding the development, production, and sale of cultivated meat (also known as ‘cellular meat’ or ‘lab-grown meat’). With a published monograph and numerous articles on the topic, Vienna Animal Studies could not have asked for a more qua

On February 26 th , John Sanbonmatsu, Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, gave an inspiring online talk on his most recent book The Omnivore’s Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and Ourselves , published in 2025 by NYU Press. In his book, Sanbonmatsu, draws on a wide range of thinkers to analyze the existential dimensions of speciesism and to deconstruct how the hegemonic system reproduces itself. Borrowing Marx’ conce

On January 27 th , Svea Jörgensen gave an interesting talk at the Messerli Research Institute entitled “ Struggling to Balance the Scales: Empirical Insights from the Ethical Review of Animal Research in Sweden .” Svea outlined details of her PhD project, which investigates the ethical review process of applications for animal research in Sweden. There are six regional Animal Ethics Committees (AECs) in Sweden that are tasked with the transparent ethical reviews of animal res

Have you ever thought about whether animals understand death? Well, they might very well do. This year's “ Science Book of the Year ” award in the science/technology category has been awarded to Spanish philosopher Susana Monsó, who argues in favor of a concept of death in animals by combining philosophical conceptualization with empirical evidence from animal behavior. The prize is awarded annually by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Women, Science, and Research. Susana wr

We are proud to announce the speakers for our 2026 Summer Lecture Series including lectures by scholars based in Vienna who are working in the field of animal studies: 12 March 2026, “ Animal Futures in an Economy of Cultivated Meat ” by Dr. Arianna Ferrari (WU, 18:00-20:00). 9 April 2026, “ From Refugees to Residents and Beyond: The Legal Status of Animals in Sanctuaries ” by Dr. Zipporah Weisberg and Sona Kalafusova (WU, 18:00-20:00). 26 May 2026, “ Do Organoids Matter in T

In late November 2025, the 9th Austrian Animal Rights Congress ( Tierrechtskongress ) convened in Vienna, bringing together activists, scholars, and advocates from across the German-speaking world to share their campaigns, strategies, and theoretical reflections. The congress serves as a vital gathering point for those working daily on behalf of animals - offering a view of the broader movement landscape and fostering connections between diverse projects and initiatives. This

A few years ago, animals crept into the Nuremberg University of Music, settled in, and became an integral part of the university landscape, as they have elsewhere in international academic life. We owe this to Human-Animal Studies, the scientific field of research that examines animals as subjects, but also as active, feeling, and thinking co-creators of a shared world. A whole range of disciplines, from philosophy and animal ethics to biology, from cultural studies to veteri

This semester we are proud to announce the launch of the Vienna Animal Studies' Visiting Lecture Series. Unlike the Winter and Summer Lecture Series that aim to highlight the work of scholars based in Vienna and foster networking and collaboration, the Visiting Lecture Series provides opportunities to scholars who are visiting the city to showcase their work. We start off this initiative on the 19th of November with a fascinating talk by Dr Barbara Holthus on the multifacete

On the 10th of September, Dr Leonie Bossert started the Vienna Animal Studies (VAS) 2025 Winter Lecture Series by asking whether geoengineering has the potential to help animals or if it just presents another “techno-fix” informed by ideas of human domination.

We are proud to announce the speakers for our Winter Lecture Series including lectures by scholars based in Vienna who are working in the field of animal studies. 10 September 2025, “Opium for the Earth at the expense of nonhuman animals? A non-anthropocentric perspective on Geoengineering” by Dr Leonie N. Bossert (University of Vienna, 17:00-19:00). 8 October 2025, “Virtual Animals: An Ethical Discussion” by Dr Judith Benz-Schwarzburg (Immersium, 17:30-19:30) 11 November 20