Call for Papers | “Human-horse relationships in work and play: Interspecies encounters in business, tourism and beyond” | The second biannual Equine Cultures in Transition conference, Leeds Beckett University, June 19–21 2018. Call ends January 19, 2018

Hosted by the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management at Leeds Beckett University, the conference will be organised around four streams which will consider various ways in which humans and horses work and play together:

• Equestrian tourism, events and leisure
• Business, organisations and equestrian work
• Ethics and methods in researching human-horse interactions
• Open stream

Horses have long played important and varied roles in human societies, partnering people in work, warfare and, increasingly, leisure. The study of horses, and the range of practices they are embedded in, forms an emerging field of research for the social sciences and humanities. The proliferation of human-horse interactions, through practices ranging from tourism to therapy to sport, illustrates the complexity of these interspecies encounters, and the continued importance of horses to many aspects of human culture and societies.

If you have any queries please contact: k.dashper@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

• 19 January 2018 – deadline for submission of abstracts
•  16 February 2018 – notification of acceptance
• 30 April 2018 – Early bird registration deadline
• 21 May 2018 – Registration deadline
• 19-21 June 2018 – Conference

Registration will open in February

Early bird (until 30 April 2018)
Full conference – £260
Concession full conference – £200
Day rate – £95
Concession day rate – £75

After early bird
Full conference – £300
Concession full conference – £240
Day rate – £110
Concession day rate – £90

Included in conference fee
– Registration, access to sessions, book of abstracts
– Equine-related book reception
– All coffee breaks
– Three lunches

Please inform of any dietary requirements at time of booking.

Conference dinner – £40

The concession rate applies to registered students, retired academics/practitioners, and colleagues from category B and C countries, as designated by the International Sociological Association, details available here.

Call for abstracts

Abstracts are invited from international scholars from a range of disciplinary perspectives, working across the social sciences and humanities. We encourage contributions from artists and visual/creative scholars exploring these themes.  We welcome submissions from colleagues at any stage of their academic career.

An abstract of 250 words should be submitted to k.dashper@leedsbeckett.ac.uk by 19 January 2018. Submissions should include the title of the presentation, author(s) and affiliation, a succinct abstract of 250 words (maximum), 100 word author bio, and an indication of which stream the paper falls under.

The Solidarity Prize for Excellence in Early Career Equine Research

This award recognizes top quality early career equine research and supports a junior scholar with excellent potential. Current graduate students and those who received their PhDs in 2014 or later who will be presenting at the second Equine Cultures in Transition conference “Human-Horse Relationships in Work and Play” at Leeds Beckett University are invited to submit their work. To be eligible, papers must consider one or more of the following: equine and/or human-horse wellbeing, work and labour issues, interspecies ethical and/or methodological possibilities.

Applicants should submit their conference papers of approximately eight pages in length along with a short biography to Kendra Coulter at kcoulter@brocku.ca by 1 June 2018. Submissions will be assessed by a jury of leading human-horse researchers and the winner will be honoured at the conference. The prize includes $500CDN which is supported by the Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence at Brock University, Canada.

To follow.

Venue and Accommodation

Accommodation

Leeds has a wide variety of accommodation options. More information can be found here: https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/

Getting to Leeds

Leeds is centrally located in in the UK, making the city easily accessible to delegates: Just two hours from London by train, with direct train links to most major UK cities. Leeds Bradford International Airport provides speedy domestic links and daily flights from more than 65 destinations and a wide network of inbound connections worldwide. Leeds is at the heart of the UK motorway network, with excellent connections in all directions. The A1 and M1 link to the north and south, and the M62 to the east and west.

Venue

The conference venue is The Rose Bowl, the flagship development for Leeds Beckett University and a landmark for the city of Leeds. This centrally located state of the art development features the very latest in modern conferencing facilities and design, including free Wi-Fi. It is within easy walking distance of major hotels, restaurants and bars, as well as the train station and other public transport links.