On Tuesday 10 February, the Society hosts its annual Global History Lecture, in partnership with the German Historical Institute, London. This year we are delighted to welcome Professor Vinita Damodaran (University of Sussex) who will speak on ‘Decolonising the Natural History Collections of Empire’.
This year’s lecture takes place at 5.30pm, Tuesday 10 February, at Mary Ward House, 5-7 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SN. Booking for in-person and online attendance is now available. The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception for attendees at Mary Ward House. All are very welcome to attend.
Vinita’s lecture, with a focus on India, explores an important archive of knowledge of the natural world, collected and organised in the context of the empire, in the light of recent historiography on botany and empire. It highlights the importance of creating an inventory and digitally repatriating botanical specimens held primarily in British institutions, and highlights efforts for cultural remediation.
The lecture will examine neglected literature and networks in the imperial scientific network, which were crucial to what was a prodigious scientific renaissance in natural history and environmental understanding in the imperial context from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century.
The 2026 lecture is the third in the RHS / GHIL partnership which began in 2024, with previous lectures by Roland Wenzlhuemer (LMU Munich) and Clare Armstrong (University of Leicester).
