We would like to invite you to the Conference “Common, Disregarded, Marginalized: Exploring New Perspectives in the Anthropology of Plants”, which will be held on May 7, 2025 at the UG Department of History, 55 Wita Stwosza Street, auditorium 1.48.
Abstract (EN):
Plants are masters of symbiogenesis—able to entangle strangers in new shared modes of co-existence. Desires of people are shaped by plants. The beauty of flowers, the sweet nutrients of fruits, and the mind-bending properties of psychoactive compounds influence our dreams, everyday experiences of pleasure, and joy. Like people, plants can also be selfish—resisting certain kinds of symbiotic relations and unwanted associations with thorns, toxins, and other clever tricks. This talk will survey a range of ideas from the field of multispecies studies that have been mobilized in the study of plant-human symbiogenesis. Classic ideas from Actor Network Theory will be redeployed to get beyond human exceptionalism. I will illustrate how plants do the work of interessement, enlisting other beings in networks, entangled relations, and emergent ecological communities. Departing from principles of human-centered-design, I will also describe practices from art worlds and conservation biology that aim to generate convivial communities with plants as companion species.
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