“Nature” is one of the weirdest words in the English language—it can refer to human trait (“it is in her nature”), a nonhuman environment (“we walked in nature”), a divine power (“mother nature”), or a biological process (“nature calls”). Despite—and indeed, because of—these ambiguities, nature has played pivotal roles in what has come to be called the United States. In various guises, nature has inspired pilgrims, pioneers, and tourists. At the same time, nature has staged struggles between settlers and Natives, whites and racialized peoples, upper classes and working classes. In this symposium, scholars will explore how nature has brought us together and torn us apart. While these inquiries will commence in the colonial period, they will culminate in the present: now that we are destroying our ecosystems, extinguishing our fellow species, and altering our atmosphere, is there still such a thing as nature?
Event Information
Free and open to the public; registration required. Registration for guests without an active Columbia University ID closes at 1 PM on December 10.
Please see the event webpage for session and speaker information. Contact [email protected] with any questions.
Hosted by the Center for Science and Society. Sponsored by the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.
