070125 UE Guided Reading History of Science - Colonial Roots (2025S)

During European colonial expansions, complex plant worlds were transformed into biological knowledge or "data material" within the framework of colonial scientific ambitions. The destruction of ecosystems through deforestation, the establishment of plantations, and the circulation of plant specimens, as well as the foundational theories and practices of botany, highlight the extractive endeavours of European empires.

In this seminar, we will approach the entanglements of colonialism, plants, and knowledge production using various approaches from environmental histories, histories of science, as well as Queer, Feminist, and Decolonial Studies. Together, we will discuss the following questions:

What histories of violence shaped Latin-based naming and classification systems of Botany, and what role did the imagined heteronormative sexuality of European elites play in this process?
What temporalities do plants have? How can complex dependencies in so-called "multispecies landscapes" be conceptualised, and what consequences does this have for contemporary forms of historiography?
To what extent can the histories of plants be understood as a starting point for forms of historiography that do not centre humans as primary historical agents? What possibilities arise from this to re-describe colonial power (relations)?
Do fungi, tobacco plants, or lichens have histories?

Goals of the course:
The course aims to enable participants to systematically and critically analyse academic literature in the fields of histories of science and environment, as well as Feminist and Decolonial Studies.
The overarching goal is to identify and examine the complex entanglements between plants, colonialism, and science.
After successfully completing the course, participants will be able to critically reflect on current approaches to environmental and histories of science and apply these insights to their academic practice.