Plant Humanities
Plant humanities is a multidisciplinary research strand that explores the intersections between plants, human culture, history, and society.
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By studying plants and fungi in the context of humanities disciplines such as history, literature, art, and philosophy, researchers gain insights into how plants have influenced human culture and identity. Plants play a vital role in deep-rooted connections to human culture, traditions, knowledge systems, and identities and our preserved collections at RBGE are records of this intangible heritage.
Multi-disciplinary research that brings together the sciences and the humanities is key to tackling major current societal issues including climate change, biodiversity loss and the legacies of empire and colonisation. Further research will also ensure that our collections are fully accessible for use in an equitable fashion to support societal needs as well as scientific and cultural research.
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Plant Humanities Research
We have six strategic research themes that we are actively looking to pursue through collaborative research projects:
- Art of plants and gardens, including practice-based creative research and / or work on our botanical art collection.
- Connections between biodiversity, equity and social inclusion, including the colonial contexts in which the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has historically operated.
- Cultural contexts of plants in our collections in their native habitats, including both contemporary and historical perspectives.
- Humanities perspectives on the relationships between health, medicine and the plant world, including the value of green spaces for human wellbeing and the wider value of community engagement with nature and culture.
- Methods and approaches used to determine the value of plants, ecosystems and biodiversity.
- The role of collections-based science in influencing national and international policy.
Our Plant Humanities research reflects our scientific priorities in Scotland, and international collaborations with the Himalayan region, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, China, tropical South America, and Africa.
At the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh we have experts in botanical illustration, garden history, historical and cultural aspects of plant nomenclature and herbology. We offer a series of course in our Education programme, as well as the opportunity for academic research co-supervised by members of our Science team.
Our collections are accessible by appointment, and we are always happy to hear from potential collaborators and students who wish to develop funding proposals with us.
