Environment & Empire... in the museum

Wednesday, September 1, 2021 -
13:30 to 16:30

Environment & Empire… in the museum

Are you a scientist, historian or museum professional working with natural history collections? Do you want to learn more about how legacies of empire have affected, and continue to affect, environmental science?

This summer, a new professional network, led by a partnership of University of Cambridge Museums, NatSCA, Manchester Museum and the British Society for the History of Science is being launched to explore the legacies of empire and enslavement in natural history museums, and the ways those legacies are still influencing environmental science today. The "Environment & Empire… in the museum" project is funded by AHRC and NERC through their Hidden Histories of Environmental Science programme.

The network is releasing short videos between professional curators, historians and scientists in conversation about some of lesser known, and sometimes challenging, histories of our collections. These can be found here. They are each less than 10 minutes long. Perfect to dip into.

On Wednesday 1 September 2021 the project will host an afternoon workshop intended for natural scientists, historians and museum professionals working with natural history collections, to help consider particular challenges faced in exploring the hidden histories of environmental science. One of the goals of the workshop is to consider together how best we might support each other as we explore these often challenging topics, and thinking about what a professional network could and should provide in the future.

To be sure you don’t miss out you can sign up to the project email list for notifications about new videos and information about the workshop, or take a look at the network’s website for more background and information about our project partners. You can also follow us on Twitter at @envandempire.