The Unnatural History Museum

Mediating Nature in the Sixth Mass Extinction

We are at a crucial historical moment, in which the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List has announced a catastrophic decline in global biodiversity. Yet nature is, necessarily, interpreted in museums, through taxidermy dioramas and skeletal mounts; virtual tours and digital databases; image, text and film. The Unnatural History Museum brings together museum professionals and academics across disciplines to platform vital conversations about the museum mediation of the natural world during the sixth mass extinction. Each session will be hosted on Zoom to allow for international participation, and will take the format of short presentations focussed around a specific theme, followed by a synthesised Q&A and roundtable discussion.

Dr Verity Burke

Dr Verity Burke

Verity Burke is an interdisciplinary scholar working at the intersections of literary analysis, the environmental humanities, and museum studies.

She currently holds the John Pollard Newman Fellowship in Climate Change and the Arts at University College Dublin. Her research investigates representations of climate change, non-human life and the natural world in our heritage institutions.

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