A Greenhouse Research Talk by Elizabeth Fairhead, Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor, University of Bergen.
Originating in the southeast United States, the flowering shrub Franklinia alatamaha is extinct in the wild. Every Franklinia alive today is descended from two plants grown in a botanical garden in Philadelphia in the late 18th century. This study examines narratives of the Franklinia appearing in nursery catalogs, horticulture reference publications, and promotional materials for botanical gardens and arboreta to explore the intersection of storytelling, conservation, and environmental ethics in the United States. The often-repeated story of the Franklinia’s discovery and its later preservation functions equally well as a great success for conservation efforts and a cautionary tale of overcollection; the two versions of the narrative reflect an ongoing struggle to make sense of the roles humans can or should play in non-human natural processes.
Elizabeth Fairhead, an interdisciplinary scholar of Environmental Humanities and American Studies, is the Fulbright Visiting Professor in American Literature and Culture at the University of Bergen. Her research focuses on intellectual history/history of science of the U.S. Early National period, Enlightenment/Romantic thought, gardens as institutions, plants, and nature writing. She is an award-winning teacher of Interdisciplinary Humanities, History, and English with extensive experience in instruction, pedagogy, and student success.