On August 1, 2026, the Vegan Studies Initiative at Arihanta Institute will host "Shared Worlds: Concepts, Conflicts, and Connections in Human–Animal Studies," a one-day conference exploring how human–animal relationships underpin some of today's most pressing issues. Covering climate change, pandemic risk, racial injustice, food systems, and technological innovation, the event highlights how animals and animality are deeply embedded in our social, political, and ecological crises.

 

Organized around three themes—concepts, conflicts, and connections—the program brings together scholars and advocates to examine interspecies relationships, critique reforms within industrial agriculture, and analyze emerging technologies such as cultivated meat and animal use in space research. The conference concludes by situating animal ethics within struggles against white supremacy, ableism, and colonial displacement, underscoring that rethinking the human–animal boundary is central to building more just and sustainable futures.