Call for Papers: 2023 NSU Nordic Environmental Ethics Winter Symposium

30-31 March 2023 / Trondheim, Norway

Special theme: Food and Water Ethics

The Nordic Environmental Ethics NSU Study Circle will hold its fifth symposium on March 30-31, 2023 in Trondheim, Norway. We welcome abstract submissions and presentations on any topic in environmental ethics done by Nordic and Baltic researchers or in the Nordic/Baltic context. The special theme for this winter symposium is food and water ethics.

We are happy to organise this event in collaboration with EurSafe and The Programme for Applied Ethics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology hosting the event. The symposium takes place in the premises of The Royal Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters. Travel/accommodation grants will be available to participants from Nordic-Baltic countries.*

Research presentations comprise the heart of the symposium. The program will also include keynote sessions and special sessions on the theme food and water ethics, and a networking session where participants can pitch their ongoing or planned research or projects. Nordic Environmental Ethics study circle is a part of Nordic Summer University (NSU) series of study circles. It runs biannually 2021-2023 and explores environmental ethics, broadly understood, in the Nordic-Baltic context, encouraging the exchange of ideas and aiming at establishing a more permanent Nordic Environmental Ethics Network.

About the conference’s special theme: Food and fresh water are vital environmental goods for humans and nonhumans. Food production has significant environmental impacts and is also significantly influenced by environmental conditions and changes. The Nordic context for food production and consumption is very specific due to climatic and geographical circumstances, which however raise many environmental questions, including (but not limited to) the moral acceptability of animal-based food production systems in regions where plant-based agriculture is challenging. At the same time, the abundance of fresh water and sea areas is exceptional, and water provides opportunities but also raises questions about the ethics of water use, aquaculture, and fisheries. We welcome any submissions on ethics that relate to these themes.

Please submit your abstract (300-500 words) via email to Mikko Puumala mimapuu[at]utu.fi by November 15, 2022. Decisions will be announced by November 30, 2022.

For accepted papers, there will be an option to submit the paper to a special issue on Food and Water Ethics in Etikk i praksis – Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics. Paper drafts for consideration are due by early May 2023, and the final deadline for full papers is in late August 2023.

Also, please indicate if you are interested in presenting your (ongoing or planned) research project in the networking session. A certificate for participation in the session can be given for travel allowance eligibility purposes.

Welcome to our event and the amazing Trondheim!

* We can grant financial support for travel and accommodation costs for a limited number of Nordic/Baltic participants with accepted papers who lack external funding / institutional support for travelling. Sustainable travelling is encouraged. Please indicate your interest in travel support in the submission email. The NSU travel grant is available only for those who present a paper in the conference. The Winter Symposium 2023 is funded by the NordPlus Programme.