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Plants, Heritage and Colonial Histories – A Roundtable
Mon, July 13, 4:15 to 5:45pm, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Floor: Level 2, Lennox 3Session Submission Type: Roundtable
English Abstract
Within recent years, the plant humanities has been one of the most dynamic growth areas within history of science, leading to the creation of new programmes and research centres in the UK and USA. But the conversations circulating among academics have not consistently found a welcome reception in public discourse where, in some circles at least, the trope of the heroic plant hunter, with strongly imperialistic and nationalistic undertones, remains ever-present.
The roundtable discusses our experiences working with different communities to rethink and retell botanical and horticultural histories. The discussion divides into three strands: We start by reflecting on the perspectives we each have gained working with stakeholders ranging from non-academic publishers (Premack) to the International National Trusts Organisation (Moody) and UNESCO (Easterby-Smith). We then consider physical spaces as active containers of (plant) heritages: how, for example, do gardens and other green spaces manifest public memory? How might they function to communicate challenging histories, for example of transatlantic enslavement? The third strand assesses our experiences crafting new narratives about plant heritage via media ranging from gardens to creative non-fiction to policy writing. How might we talk about the histories of both plants and peoples from more socially inclusive perspectives? How have our efforts to shift tired narratives in the garden / horticultural space been received? Taken together, we are excited about the opportunity this roundtable offers to have a big conversation with other delegates about the challenges and possibilities involved in expanding academic and public understandings about plants, heritage and our colonial pasts.