2025 EKU Living with Animals Conference

The Living with Animals 6 Conference is an Animal Studies conference hosted by Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) about all things animal and human-animal interaction, occurring on EKU’s Richmond campus. Located in Richmond, Kentucky, just south of Lexington, “The Horse Capital of the World,” EKU began offering the first undergraduate degree in Animal Studies in 2010. We host the Living with Animals conference every 2 years (except for 2021, due to COVID).

Organized by Robert W. Mitchell, Radhika Makecha, and Michał Piotr Pręgowski, the conference focuses on our ever-present relationships with animals examined through the arts and humanities, sciences, and applied fields. The theme of this year’s conference is Invisibilities, addressing a variety of topics relevant to animals: marginalization, extinction, mental states, non-visible animals, microscopic animals, camouflage, spirituality, not being considered, being ignored, and/or not even being noticed.

“Living with Horses,” co-organized by Gala Argent and Jeannette Vaught, and “Living with Art and Animals,” organized by Julia Schlosser, are continuing conferences within the Living with Animals conference. We are also hoping to attract presenters on the theme of “Living with Insects,” to draw attention to the precarious nature of so many insects in the world today.

Keynote Speakers

Registration

All conference registrations include lunch Thursday (March 13) and Saturday (March 15), and conference dinner Saturday (March 15).

Conference Location

The Living with Animals Conference will be held in the Perkins Building on Eastern Kentucky University’s campus located in historic Richmond, Kentucky. Richmond’s attractions include many areas of historic and scenic interest. Fort Boonesborough State Park, birthplace of Kentucky, is located 12 miles to the north; many other historical sites are nearby. The University is located just south of Kentucky’s famed Bluegrass Region, internationally recognized for its horse culture. See eku.edu/about for more information.

EKU’s Perkins Building is located at 4436 Kit Carson Drive, Richmond, KY. Parking is available in the lot next to the building. On the campus map the Perkins Building is #76 in the bottom right and the parking lot is in orange right nearby.

Transportation & Lodging

Transportation

There is an airport shuttle from the Lexington Bluegrass Airport to the conference hotels. If you need transportation to and/or from the Lexington Bluegrass Airport, please provide airport information when you register for the conference. Kentucky Foothills is providing shuttle service from hotels to the conference and to all events during the conference. There is no extra fee for this service. You may have to wait a while for other travelers at the airport to arrive.

Lodging

The conference hotels are the Best Western, Quality Inn, Comfort Suites, and Hampton Inn. All three are located off I-75, exit 87. The Best Western is located on the east side, and the Quality Inn, Hampton Inn, and Comfort Suites are located on the west side, near the Starbucks. These are the only hotels serviced by the shuttles. These hotels are between 1.5-2 miles from the Perkins Building, where the conference is being held.

Best Western
100 Eastern Bypass, Richmond, KY 40475-2302
$80.00 + tax = $88.19

They are holding: 10 rooms with 2 double beds, 10 with a king bed, 20 with two queen beds, and 1 is ADA accessible. To reserve a room, email bestwesternrichmond@gmail.com or call 859-623-9220, mentioning Living with Animals Conference for the conference rate.

Quality Inn
2006 Colby Taylor Dr, Richmond, KY 40475-8678
$119 + tax = $131.21

15 rooms with two double beds; 5 rooms with king-sized beds. Call 859-623-0063, mentioning the Living with Animals Conference. Reservations need to be made by 2/8/2025 for this rate. There is a 7-day cancellation policy.

Hampton Inn by Hilton
1099 Barnes Mill Road, Richmond, KY 40475
$119 + tax = $131.21

10 rooms with king-sized beds, 20 rooms with two double beds. Call 859-626-1002, mentioning Living with Animals Conference. Reservations need to be made by 2/24/2025 for this rate.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites
1990 Colby Taylor Dr., Richmond, KY 40475
$129 + tax = $142.21 until Feb 8

15 rooms with Double Queen beds; 5 rooms with King-sized beds. You may reserve your room online or call the hotel directly at 859-642-4500 and request a room within the “Living with Animals Conference Block”. Reservations need to be made by midnight on February 8, 2025 in order to receive the discount.

Important Dates

We recommend that participants arrive on March 12, and depart no earlier than the evening of March 15, to enjoy the conference fully. We will be sure to provide information about any excursion on March 16 soon.

Call for Papers and Abstracts

If you would like to present at the Living with Animals conference, please send 200-400 word abstracts and CV to livingwithanimals@eku.edu.

If you would like to present at the Living with Horses conference, please submit your abstract to ALL THREE of these emails: gala@me.com, jvaught@calstatela.edu, & livingwithanimals@eku.edu.

If you would like to present at the Living with Art and Animals conference, please submit your abstract to BOTH livingwithartandanimals@gmail.com and livingwithanimals@eku.edu. Artists are welcome to submit abstracts for 20-minute artist talks in which they discuss their animal-related bodies of artwork. Panels of three artists discussing their artwork are also encouraged.

All abstracts should be single spaced. Reference to existing bodies of work may be made. All abstracts should be arranged as follows:

Please also indicate if you are submitting an individual talk, poster, full panel, roundtable discussion, or a different form of presentation (we are open to other forms of presentations). Posters are an excellent way to present scientific and artistic works and allow engagement with conference attendees. Posters will be presented during lunch on Saturday, March 15, 2025.

We aim to get back to you by January 15, 2025 as to whether or not your abstract has been accepted.