Birds of America

When naturalist and artist John James Aubudon set foot on the soil of the United States at the beginning of the 19th century, he found a paradise of lush nature and numerous birds. He immortalised these birds in his book Birds of America. The colourful illustrations gained fame for Aubudon and the birds, but the book is also one of the last glimpses of a diversity of species that was subsequently to disappear from the face of the earth, due to human intervention and the industrial revolution. Birds of America follows the route of the Mississippi, in search of traces of extinct animals, uprooted Indian tribes and devastated landscapes.

Talk
In his after talk, Professor Raf De Bont will focus on wilderness as a problematic concept in Birds of America. Was Aubudon the environmental justice warrior the film suggests? And what is the relation between humans and the visible nature that surrounds us?

About the speaker
Raf de Bont is Professor of History of Science and the Environment at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UM). He particularly published on human-animal relations, scientific ecology and nature protection, degeneration and evolution theories, and the representation of science (and scientists) in culture at large.

InScience International Science Film Festival Nijmegen is one of the biggest science film festivals in Europe and unique in the Netherlands. InScience focusses on the cutting edge of film, science and society. The program consists of science films, debates and an education program for children and youngsters.
The seventh edition takes place from 10 till 14 November in Nijmegen.