Edge Effects

Saharanism and the Myth of the Empty Desert: Five Questions for Brahim El Guabli

What happens when we imagine the desert as empty? Gustavo Sanchez-Bachman talks with Brahim El Guabli about his book Desert Imaginations: A History of Saharanism and Its Radical Consequences. Their conversation explores “Saharanism” and the people and ecologies obscured by dominant desert imaginaries …

A bright blue frog swimming in green, murky water

Faculty Favorites: Encountering the Ecological Weird

Weird times call for weird recommendations. Faculty from across the disciplines share books, films, and songs that explore the ecological weird—from the uncanny and unsettling to the disorienting and unexpected …

Two large yellow and red orchid blooms appear in the foreground. A small hummingbird hovers nearby. Tropical plants appear in the background.

Detrás de la belleza de las orquídeas, siglos de violencia

Siguiendo el rastro de las orquídeas en Cosecha de huesos, una novela de Edwidge Danticat, se revelan complejas tramas de cuidado, violencia y el poder perdurable de la imaginación colonial …

A close up of the derailed train cars from above. Many of the cars are charred black from fire damage, and smoke rises.

Is the Disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, a New Normal?

Shocking events like the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, often get framed as just that–shocking. Alex George and Kimberley Thomas reframe the incident around normal accident theory to emphasize the structural problems at the heart of the train industry …

Black and white illustration of a variety of plants drawn on yellow paper.

Botany’s Colonial Present and Alternative Futures: A Conversation with Banu Subramaniam

Laleh Ahmad speaks with Banu Subramaniam about her recent book Botany of Empire: Plant Worlds and the Scientific Legacies of Colonialism. Their conversation explores how colonialism shaped botany and considers how we might imagine alternative futures …

Image of the art exhibit showing a stand to the left with plants, tubes, and monitors, and a diagram on the wall behind it. The room is dark.

Technological Mediations for Interspecies Communication

Alizée Armet asks what happens when we stop trying to interpret plants and fungi as if they were speaking our language. Through a series of living art installations, she explores how humans, plants, fungi, and technology can form new kinds of relationships that challenge human ideas of communication …

Translation, Agroforestry, and the Language of Plants

At first glance, language and restorative agriculture may seem unrelated. But by combining expertise in translation studies and agroforestry, Lia A. Miranda de Lima and Lucas Sigefredo uncover ways of thinking about the language of plants …

Thinking with Maíz: A Conversation with Vick Quezada and Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra

Artist Vick Quezada and evolutionary biologist Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra both center maíz in their work despite their very different approaches. Together with M. Hamilton Wilson, these scholars explore the co-evolution of humans and maiz (corn), through the lens of cultural history, art and performance, science, and language …

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