CFP: 2 Sessions at RSA - The circulation of plant sources

CFP: 2 sessions: The circulation of plant sources: manuscripts, print and dried herbaria in Modern Europe (XV-XVII c.)
Boston, MA, March 31 - April 2, 2016

Renaissance Society of America Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 31 March-2 
April 2016

Deadline: June 7, 2015
Session organizers: Dominic Olariu (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Berlin; Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel); Raffaella Bruzzone (University Park, University of Nottingham)
Plants have always been represented in different ways, through manuscripts, woodcuts, engravings and the actual dried specimens in herbaria. The circulation of these kinds of sources involved a wide range of people (physicians, apothecaries, herbalists, charlatans, botanists, women) as the producers or consumers of these products, and the actual objects themselves: herbal manuscripts, herbaria (printed or dried, with actual specimens), notebooks, letters, plants, seeds and so forth.
The production, consumption and use of these sources and their circulation can be examined from different points of view and from different disciplines: botany, history (particularly the history of science), art history, linguistics and many others. Through a micro analytical lens we can examine the objects (herbals, archival documents) in sufficient detail so as to understand where they were produced, in which context (landscape, archives, people) and with which purposes.
This panel seeks to put together new and original contributions so as to better understand the circulation of these botanical sources through different approaches and studies but with the attention to the detail and at a micro-scale. However, original contributions discussing wider developments of circulation of botanical sources are welcome, as well. Papers on the early periods are particularly encouraged.
Proposals should include the author’s name, professional affiliation, and contact information, including email address; the paper’s title (15-word maximum); an abstract (150-word maximum); a brief CV (300-word maximum); and any applicable keywords. Please submit proposals to session organizers Dominic Olariu (olariu@staff.uni-marburg.de) and Raffaella Bruzzone (raffaella.bruzzone@nottingham.ac.uk) by June 7, 2015.