Kathleen Cruz Gutierrez (University of California, Santa Cruz), “A Conversation on Botany, Empire, and Environmental Humanities in the Philippines and Beyond” (Council on Southeast Asian Studies)

In this open-ended conversation, Kathleen Cruz Gutierrez will discuss current and forthcoming research on the intersections of botany, empire, and vernacular plant knowledge in the Philippines. Moving between Southeast Asian Studies, the environmental humanities and history, Dr. Gutierrez will encourage us to think in new ways about Philippine proto-national and regional floristic space, and challenge historians to question assumptions about the oversimplified intellectual divide between Spanish and US imperial projects. The discussion will be moderated by CSEAS chair, Erik Harms, and will build in ample time for questions from and discussions with the audience.