CALL FOR PAPERS The Language of Nature SHNH International Summer Meeting and AGM Thinktank, Millennium Point, Birmingham Tuesday 13 June 2023 (with visits planned for 14 June)
T
he Society for the History of Natural History is a diverse community of people united by an active interest in the study of natural history through time, believing that a greater awareness of how nature has been considered, documented, valued and exploited by societies and individuals worldwide leads to a deeper understanding and celebration of nature.
The Society is known for its friendliness and its meetings combine intellectual excellence with opportunities for an informal exchange of ideas. It is a focal point for the history of all aspects of natural history. This includes art, literature, biography and bibliography as well as investigative historical studies.
This one-day international meeting will explore the language of nature in its broadest sense. Over centuries, different formats and mediums, stylistic approaches and classification systems have been used to describe and represent the natural world. These ‘languages’ influence how we conceive of nature, how we categorise it, how we wonder at it and who we credit with its ‘discovery’. This conference aims to bring new perspectives to the history of natural history writing and other expressions of nature, exploring not only the creativity and originality involved but also the limitations and biases that shape our understanding of the natural world and how it has been perceived throughout history.
We welcome papers that explore (but are not restricted to) the following topics and their relation to the role of language in natural history:
The history of taxonomic language- Systems of classification
- Indigenous voices
- Translation
- Production of natural history texts and/or collections
- Accounts of voyages and expeditions
- Journals, field guides and correspondence
- Animal/vegetable/and human “languages” by or about nature
- Display and representation
- Collaboration and contribution
Abstracts for 20-minute papers should be submitted to Dr Elle Larsson, Meetings Secretary at: meetings@shnh.org.uk. Please include a title, an abstract (up to 250 words) and a speaker biography (up to 100 words).
The deadline for submission is 17 March 2023.
Successful papers will be selected to cover a range of topics and on the basis of their appropriateness and relevance to the theme of the meeting.
Information about bursaries for those with insufficient means to present at the meeting and registration will be available soon.
For those able to stay in Birmingham an extra night, we hope to be able to offer a number of tours on the 14 June 2023. Details will be confirmed in due course.
Download the CALL FOR PAPERS Summer Meeting on The Language of Nature
For more information on the Society please see www.shnh.org.uk.
Archives of Natural History is the journal of the Society for the History of Natural History, publishing papers on the history and bibliography of all branches of natural history. For more information see https://www.euppublishing.com/loi/anh.
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