The modern industrial age has relegated most animals to the periphery of the daily human experience, confining them within farms, zoos, and protected areas. But for most of human history, animals were everywhere—both in the city and in the countryside. Animals, moreover, mattered far more than they do in today’s industrial economy. They performed vital roles as modes of transportation, as sources of food and fibers, as commodities, and as status and cultural symbols. Human history, in short, cannot be adequately understood without paying attention to animals.

The Department of History at Penn State and the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED) at Koç University are happy to announce a conference exploring the role of animals in Anatolian and Turkish history. The conference’s goal is to explore how animals shaped the human experience in Anatolia and Turkey over time, and how Anatolian and Turkish societies (in turn) have altered the past and present of different animal groups. The conference will be bilingual, in Turkish and English, and there will be a live English-Turkish and Turkish-English translation.