ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

“Pedagogies of Things” in the Natural History Humanities

Session Submission Type: Organized Session

English Abstract

The natural history humanities have emerged as an exciting interdisciplinary and collections-based area of inquiry focused on studying and reflecting on human-nature relationships past and present. The work of researching, creatively interpreting, and critically assessing natural history’s materiality is frequently collaborative and often occurs spontaneously in the context of fleeting moments of teaching and learning. This has important ramifications for how history of science is practiced and taught. This panel takes the “pedagogies of things” in the natural history humanities as its primary focus. It asks: how do object lessons work, how could they work and how have they worked in the past? What theoretical frameworks might we draw from during moments of engagement with natural history materials, collections and texts? How should we understand the relationship between pedagogy, collections and knowledge-making in the natural history and environmental humanities more generally? Beyond material literacy and enhanced engagement with pressing environmental, economic and sociopolitical questions, are there other ends to which object pedagogical methods can and should be focused on?

Sub Unit

• Organized Session

Chair

• Anita Guerrini, Oregon State University, and University of California Santa Barbara

Individual Presentations

• How to Read What Isn’t There: Teaching Loss with Natural History Collections - Katherine Arnold, University of Liverpool

• History of Science and Natural History Humanities in multidisciplinary classrooms, collection storage rooms and exhibitions - Dominik Huenniger, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

• Bridging the Gap: Current initiatives and obstacles regarding object-based teaching in Swedish universities - Anna Svensson, Uppsala University

• Studying the past, projecting the future: object pedagogies as modes of investigation - Kelly Whitmer, Sewanee

Session Organizer

• Kelly Whitmer, Sewanee