The purpose of the Scientific Ethics Committee is to deliberate on the production of scientific material for the ISZ, such as journal issues, courses, and international conferences and events.
Laura Budriesi
University of Bologna (IT)
Laura Budriesi (PhD) is currently Adjunct professor in Performing Arts at the Department of Arts of the University of Bologna and the Department of PRO.GE.AS, University of Florence. Her work focuses on the intersection of theatre and anthropology, with particular emphasis on the performative aspects of rituals. She has conductive extensive research in Mali and Ethiopia and has authored two books: Michel Leiris. Il teatro della possessione e Michel Leiris sui palcoscenici della possessione. Etiopia e Haiti 1930-1983 (Patron 2017). She also researches into animality in the contemporary scene and throughout the history of theatre and performance, within the context of Animal Performance Studies. Her publications on the topic include: Il caso di Jackie the Baboon. Dalla teoria della performance agli Animal Performance Studies, «Mimesis Journal. Scritture della performance», 8, 2, pp. 31-53, 2019; Performing horses. Cavalli in scena tra Ottocento e Novecento, «Mimesis Journal. Scritture della performance», 9,1, pp. 5-38, 2020; Performare La Natura: Dal Dispositivo Rappresentazionale Al ‘Teatro Delle Specie’ tra Pratica e Teoria in Donna Haraway, Una Chaudhuri e Marta Cuscunà, «Comunicazioni sociali», 2021, n. 3, 386-405, 2021; Animal Performance Studies, Torino, Accademia University Press, soon to be published.
Esmeralda Degli Espinosa
Following my humanistic studies with a specialisation in anthropology, I spent some time working in the business field. My enduring passion lies in life in all its forms. I believe that zooanthropology provides a highly sophisticated lens to approach and access the complex network of relationships that are continually evolving on our planet.
Barbara King
College of William and Mary, VA (US)
Barbara J. King is emerita professor of anthropology at William & Mary, Virginia, US, and a freelance science writer and public speaker. The author of seven books, including Animals’ Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in Captivity and the Wild, Barbara focuses on animal emotion and cognition, and the ethics of our relationships with animals. Her book How Animals Grieve has been translated into 7 languages and her TED talk on animal love and grief has received over 3.4 million views. Her website is www.barbarajking.com and she tweets @bjkingape.
Pietro Li Causi
University of Rome “La Sapienza” (IT)
Pietro Li Causi is a Researcher in Latin at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and achieved the National Scientific Qualification (ASN) to teach Latin Language and Literature in 2017 and 2023. He served as a former Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the University of Palermo, where he taught Latin Culture and Latin Language and Literature. He is the PI of the project “Breaking the Silence: Human-Animal Interactions in the Classical World” and an aggregate member of the International Research Network “Zoomathia (Transmission culturelle des savoirs zoologiques – Antiquité-Moyen Âge)”. For years, he has dedicated his studies to the zooanthropology of the ancient world. His latest book s are In principio erano i mostri (InSchibboleth, Roma 2022) and Gli animali nel mondo antico (Il Mulino, Bologna 2018). Together with Roberto Pomelli, he edited L’anima degli animali (Einaudi 2015) and authored the following books published by Palumbo: Sulle tracce del manticora (2003), Generare in comune (2008) and Il riconoscimento e il ricordo (2012). His web pages are: https://uniroma1.academia.edu/
Boria Sax
Mercy College, NY (USA)
Boria Sax has worked as a consultant on human rights issues for such organizations as Amnesty International, Helsinki Watch, and Human Rights Internet. He is author of 20 books, which have been translated into many languages, most recently Avian Illuminations: A Cultural History of Birds (2022). He currently teaches in the graduate English program at Mercy College and at Sing Sing prison.
Sabrina Tonutti
University of Udine; Varianti, Società Cooperativa (IT)
Sabrina Tonutti holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and is a researcher and essayist. She worked as a researcher at the University of Udine for fifteen years, lecturing in Cultural Anthropology and Popular Traditions. She has conducted field research both in Italy and abroad. Her research areas include zooanthropology, social movements and museum anthropology. As a former Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics (UK) and a member of several international advisory boards on Animal Studies, she has contributed publications for Giunti, Giuffrè, Meltemi, EMI, and Forum.
Nikoleta Zampaki
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
Nikoleta Zampaki is Postdoctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Philology of the National an Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece). Her research areas are the Environmental Humanities, Posthumanities, Digital Humanities, and Comparative Literature.
