Transdisciplinary Theological Study: Animals, Divinanimality, and Creaturely Theology

Dear Colleagues,

In Jacques Derrida’s seminal essay The Animal That Therefore I Am the philosopher coins the word “divinanimality” as an expression of the other (animal). Derrida defines this term as “the quasi-transcendental referent, the excluded, foreclosed, disavowed, tamed, and sacrificed foundation of what it founds, namely the symbolic order, the human order, law and justice.” A “turn to the animal” in cultural studies, philosophy, religious studies, literary studies, and interdisciplinary spaces such as feminist and environmental studies began well before Derrida’s essay (first a series of lectures) entered the dialogue. As Susan Fraiman reminded in her article “Pussy Panic versus Liking Animals,” scholars such as Harriet Ritvo and Donna Haraway “turned to the animal” long before Derrida. But, not surprisingly though in some ways unfortunately, his contribution gave the “turn” legitimacy for much of the academic world. And, likely, the word “divinanimality” offered a new insight, particularly for those engaged in religious studies.

This special issue of Religions focuses on those burgeoning ideas of divinanimality and seeks contributions from thinkers who, as stated in the title, eagerly move outside of the constraints of traditional theology by truly addressing and engaging “the animal” (a contested and, anthropocentric unnatural category). Contributions can come from a variety of transdisciplines – historical, feminist, human-animal, critical animal, theological (broadly defined from any religious perspective, not just those “traditional” ones), race and ethnicity, social justice, posthumanism, and other studies. The interrogation of the category of animals and how, through thinking about animals (including the human animal), one thinks about the divine, should be central. The queries should attempt to go beyond those in the volume Divinanimality: Animal Theory, Creaturely Theology (Stephen Moore, ed. 2014), which explored many of these same issues (full disclosure, this special edition editor has an essay in that volume). One way to expand on those essays is to stretch more into the critiques Haraway provides of Derrida’s philosophical position. Thus, some questions might include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

• How do other animals offer insight into the understanding of being and the sacred?
• Without transcending anthropocentrism, can there even be a comprehension of the sacred?
• How do we “think with animals and about animals”?
• Can we think about animals without making the thinking be about humans?
• Who is the animal? How can this understanding shape creaturely theology?
• Can the human–animal binary be deconstructed? How and why?
• In her book When Species Meet, Donna Haraway states (names Part I of the book) “We Have Never Been Human.” What does this mean, and how can ideas such as this contribute to creaturely thinking (theology)?
• Can the animal be “uncreated” or, as Ursula LeGuin eloquently storifies, be “unnamed”? Is this task a theological one in and of itself? What might it imply?
• Does divinanimality change everything when actually, really, considered?
• Can creaturely theology provide an avenue for relocating the sacred in the world, particularly in the midst of the urgency of climate change and species extinction?

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor ([email protected]) and to Ms. Joyce Xi ([email protected]), the Assistant Editor of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed for the purposes of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue and to achieve a wide range of topics and ideas. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Prof. Dr. Laura Hobgood
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• divinanimality
• creaturely theology
• the animal
• human-animal
• critical animal
• transdisciplinary studies