PS-Introduction to Cultural Studies: Botanical Aesthetics and the British Cultural Imagination
Lenka Filipova
Kommentar
Recent years have seen a surge of interest in plants across disciplines, from science and philosophy to art and literature. Concepts like the ‘wood wide web,’ mother trees, and plant-fungal networks—alongside debates on plant ‘intelligence,’ ‘sentience,’ ‘agency’ or even ‘consciousness’—have captivated both scholars and the public. While these ideas have sparked enthusiasm, they have also been met with scepticism, as some researchers question both their empirical accuracy and whether they reveal more about plants themselves or human projections onto them. In any case, plants are having a cultural moment. While this fascination is partly driven by ecological concerns, it also builds on a long history of botanical aesthetics and cultural significance. Plants have shaped artistic practices, scientific inquiry, and symbolic meaning for centuries.
This course will examine case studies from the 18th century to the present, exploring the significance of plants and botanical aesthetics in British culture. How have different artistic forms represented the relationship between plants and humans, and how do floral narratives shape our perception of both botanical and human life? What can plants, when viewed as historical archives, reveal about trade, ecological shifts, and artistic traditions? In what ways do botanical aesthetics intersect with colonial histories and power structures? What ethical and philosophical challenges arise when considering plants as sentient or agential beings? What political and ecological stakes are involved in representing plants in the Anthropocene?
We will explore plants’ roles in artistic and material cultures, from botanical motifs in textiles and design to the economic and political significance of natural dyes, such as indigo, cochineal, madder and saffron. We will consider how plants acquire symbolic meanings—such as joy, excess, horror, toxicity—and how these shifting associations have influenced literature, art, and science. Furthermore, we will examine how botanical aesthetics have reinforced and, at times, destabilised racial and gendered hierarchies, linking natural history with imperial expansion and the commodification of beauty. Through visual art, literature, and film, we will trace how plants have been represented in British culture over time, questioning both their aesthetic appeal and their entanglements with history, science, and ideology.
Schließen12 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung