An unnatural history of extinction
LSEHoughton Street
Tue 8 Dec · 18:30 · Free
About this event
Today, scientists are warning of the risks of a sixth mass extinction event due to a widespread loss of animals, plants and the diversity of life on earth. But anyone alive today belongs to a tiny fraction of all who have ever lived: more than 90% of species that once existed are now extinct. In this event, historian Sadiah Qureshi joins us to discuss her acclaimed book Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction , which traces how extinction emerged as a scientific idea in the age of revolutions and was quickly weaved into debates around colonialism and scientific discovery. Drawing on Qureshi's pioneering research and LSE's own work on the behavioural and psychological dimensions of extinction, this conversation will explore what a fuller reckoning with the history of extinction can teach us about collective responsibility and action in the present.
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A different kind of night
Not the same tradition as the lineage above — a genuinely different thread to pull, if you want one.