Virtual Talk: Garden Politic in Nineteenth-Century America

Thu, Oct 3, 2024
2:00 PM

This program appeared in the 2024 Spring/Summer Catalog and has been rescheduled for October 3.

How did ordinary home gardeners in nineteenth-century America perceive their gardens as tied to the fates of the nation and the world? This webinar event explores how caring for plants brought these gardeners face-to-face with the greatest political issues of the day: colonialism, conquest, slavery, and democracy. It focuses on a selection of gardeners who were also famous writers—including Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Frederick Douglass—and shows how their homes and gardens were important places for broader environmental thinking. This talk draws on research from Mary Kuhn’s new book, The Garden Politic: Global Plants and Botanical Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century America.

DATE AND TIME
Thursday, October 3, 2024
2:00 p.m. Eastern

LOCATION
Live on Zoom

REGISTRATION
Registration for this event has ended. Call us at 845.424.6500 if you have any questions!

A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. 

Members of the Frank & Anne Cabot Society for planned giving have complimentary access to Garden Conservancy webinars. All Cabot Society members will automatically be sent the link to participate on the morning of the webinar. For more information about the Cabot Society, please contact Bridget Connors at bconnors@gardenconservancy.org or 845.424.6500, ext. 228.

About the Speaker: 
Mary Kuhn is an associate professor of English at the University of Virginia. She is the author of The Garden Politic and many articles on the relationship between people, plants, and politics. At UVA, she routinely teaches courses in nineteenth-century literary studies, environmental literature, and the environmental humanities.