Critical Plant Studies: Re-imaginings of vegetal life

This 5 credit PhD course will provide students with cutting edge interdisciplinary perspectives on the philosophy of plants. By introducing the new field of ‘critical plant studies’, the purpose is to draw on philosophical and humanistic literature to explore, describe, and critically scrutinize new or re-imagined perspectives on plants that are emerging from the life sciences and humanities. A key outcome of the course is the opportunity for students to apply the various themes in relation to their specific field of research, and to investigate what these novel ideas mean for current paradigms of research and practice in environmental and landscape planning and governance.

The course will cover the themes of: i) Process philosophy and alternative histories of vegetal ontology; ii) New frontiers in scientific understandings of plants, including plant communication and behaviour; iii) Indigenous and animist perspectives on plants; iiii) The discursive power of concepts, symbols and narratives on plants in society including invasive plants; and V) Ethics for sentient plants.