Gender, Colonialism & Science: A Cross-Cultural Compendium of Primary Sources. Vol. 3: Plants
Volume editors: Tina Gianquitto & Geoff Bil
General editors: Donald L. Opitz & Banu Subramanian
We are seeking contributions to a volume of primary source materials—with particular emphasis on those produced by women, queer, non-binary, two-spirit and/or transgender persons—that offer perspectives on gender and plant life (and quasi-plant life) from global geographies of direct relevance to the British empire (ca. 1650-1950).
This volume will be part of a 5-volume series, “Gender, Colonialism, and Science: A Cross-Cultural Compendium of Primary Sources” (General Editors: Donald L. Opitz and Banu Subramanian) from Routledge. Collectively, the volumes will illuminate gendered knowledge about nature in various cultural contexts from approximately 1650 to 1950. They will offer a readily-accessible compendium of primary source materials that span geographies and cultural perspectives, precisely during a period when understandings of nature by women, queer, non-binary, two-spirit and/or transgender persons, became increasingly visible and important, and yet all the more contested. The guiding volume principles are as follows:
• Source creators whose identities contribute to an inclusive representation amongst knowledge producers, with particular emphasis on persons who may be classified as women, queer, non-binary, two-spirit and/or transgender, and, where possible, individuals from Indigenous, colonized and/or marginalized backgrounds. Anonymous sources are also acceptable.
• Inclusion of highly original, cross-cutting and transdisciplinary sources.
• Variety in source types (textual, material, visual, and auditory) and subtypes (published documents, unpublished manuscripts, popularizations, etc.).
• Provenance of sources spanning geographical regions globally, with a shared connection to the British Empire but collectively achieving cultural diversity.
• Rarity of sources, privileging inclusion of less accessible, lesser-known sources over ones widely known and/or widely accessible.
• Each source preceded by a brief 100-200-word headnote providing necessary context, and followed by recommended further reading.
To contribute an interpretative headnote, please send a 200-word description of the recommended source(s) and source producer(s) and explanation of the relevance of the source to the series, and a brief bio to volume editors Tina Gianquitto (tinagian@mines.edu) & Geoff Bil (gbil@udel.edu) by December 31, 2022. Future due dates are TBD. Further info can be found at https://
Please also let us know if you have a source for us to consider but do not want to write a headnote.
