The Many Meanings of Flora

Re-Evaluating the Aesthetics and Politics of Plants
Department of Art History & Department of Cultural Studies

Plants are not rigid symbols; they are dynamic actors in cultural, political and economic processes. Depending on the historical context, the meanings they carry can be altered, recharged or transformed into resistant narratives. The interdisciplinary conference The Many Meanings of Flora critically re-examines the aesthetics and politics of plants, scrutinising their role in art, literature, science and society.

Throughout history, plants have shaped cultural narratives, functioning as projection surfaces for ideas of power, belonging, nature and civilisation, and becoming symbols of resistance, home, exile, knowledge, remembrance and oblivion. In art and literature, for example, they have been used as allegories of life and transience, while in colonial contexts they have become tools of exploitation and control. Botanical knowledge production was closely linked to imperial interests, contributing to the consolidation of Eurocentric systems of knowledge. Current debates demonstrate the growing importance of plants in political struggles, ecological movements and postcolonial discourse. However, these meanings are not fixed but are subject to constant re-evaluation depending on the political, social or economic climate. This conference focuses on the multifaceted meanings of plants, placing particular emphasis on viewing them as active elements in historical and contemporary negotiation processes.

Organized by Anita Hosseini (Department of Art History) and Isabel Kranz (Department of Cultural Studies) moderated together with Lisa Marie Heuschober, Maria Inês Lopes Vales & Lorenzo Zerbini