Collecting Nature: Histories, Legacies and Living Worlds

About

Join us for a panel discussion on natural collections and the work of Henry Dresser. This event is of interest to those interacting with natural history collections. What does it mean to ‘collect' the natural world, and how can collections created in the past shape knowledge today? Focusing on nineteenth-century British natural history, this Research Café explores the people, practices, power relations and institutions behind the creation of such collections. Drawing on the holdings of Manchester Museum and The John Rylands Library, it will also examine how historic collections are encountered, interpreted and reimagined by researchers and cultural heritage professionals today, and what role creativity plays in those processes. The talk will be followed by an opportunity to interact with the collections in a session led by the curators. Event Agenda: 12:00 - 12:30pm - Networking and refreshments 12:30 - 2pm - Talks from the speakers and a Q&A 2pm - 2:30pm - Looking over the collections with the curators Panelists: Erin Beeston is an interdisciplinary researcher, historian of science, and a former museum professional. Erin has researched University collections for the 'Cottonopolis Collective: Lessons for environmental science through the lens of Manchester' project (2022-23), and continues to support the activity of the Collective. Jo Castle joined the Imaging team at the John Rylands Library in 2019, becoming a Senior Photographer in 2024. She currently leads digitisation projects and helps develop the Rylands’ 3D Imaging practice using photogrammetry, structured-light scanning 3D modelling. Clara Dawson is Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Manchester. She is currently researching birds in poetry and natural history in the 19th century and has recently curated a digital exhibition with Manchester Museum titled: Dead or Alive: Birds in our World. Aurora Fredriksen is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Manchester. Her research centres on the intersection between planetary ecological crisis and everyday encounters with wildlife. Her forthcoming paper ‘Dead Animal Geographies’ grapples with the ethics of conducting non-scientific research with ornithological collections. Glenn Roadley is Curator of Zoology at Manchester Museum, responsible for the care of and access to the museum’s collection of almost 1 million animal specimens. His role involves developing displays and exhibitions, answering enquiries, preparing loans and facilitating access for researchers. Duncan Wilson is Senior Lecturer in the University of Manchester’s Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine. He is currently finishing a book on the history of postwar conservation, titled Urgent Case or Lost Cause, which charts the scientific, political, social, and economic factors that led some endangered species to be valued more than others from roughly 1945 to 1985. Steven Hartshorne will be sharing items from the Special Collections. He is Senior Curator and Curator of Science, Technical and Medical Rare Books at the John Rylands Library.