Program - 2025 Thinking with Plants and Fungi Conference
Program
The conference will last three days, from May 15 to 17. Each day will include keynote addresses, panel discussions, and networking time. Please see the Panels page for panel descriptions.
Click here to watch the conference via livestream. All times are listed in ET.
Banner image © Maya Karkalicheva.
Conference Schedule
| Thursday, May 15 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Event | Location |
8:00 – 9:00 | Registration | HDS Commons |
9:00 – 9:30 | Welcome | James Room |
9:30 – 10:15 | Keynote Address with Merlin Sheldrake, Biologist and Author of Entangled Life | James Room |
10:15 –10:45 | Coffee | |
10:45 – 12:15 | Panel: The Light Eaters: The Past and Future of Plant Neurobiology Zoë Schlanger, Writer and Author of The Light Eaters Ernesto Gianoli, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Tarleton State University Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh, Professor Emerita of Biology at the University of Washington | James Room |
12:15 – 1:15 | Lunch | HDS Commons |
1:15 – 2:30 | Panel: From Margulis to Arber: Romanticism and Mysticism in Plant Science Jacob Erickson, Assistant Professor, School of Religion, Trinity College Dublin Samira Daneshvar, PhD Candidate, Theory and History of Architecture, Harvard University | James Room |
2:30-3:15 | Keynote Address with Emanuele Coccia, Philosopher and Lecturer, École des hautes études en sciences sociales | James Room |
3:15-3:45 | Coffee | |
3:45-5:00 | Panel and Performance: Botanical Art and Fungal Sounds Giovanni Aloi, Professor, School of the Art Institute, Chicago; Editor in Chief of Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture Sion Parkinson, Visual Artist, Composer, Performer, Writer, and Researcher, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland | James Room |
5:00-5:15 | Close | James Room |
| Friday, May 16th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Event | Location |
9:00 – 9:15 | Welcome | James Room |
9:15 – 10:00 | Keynote Address with Giuliana Furci, Foundress and Executive Director of the Fungi Foundation | James Room |
10:00 - 10:30 | Coffee | |
10:30 – 12:15 | Panel: Entangled Ethics: Forging a Future with Plants and Fungi Jamie Cross, Professor of Social Anthropology and Director of the Glasgow Changing Futures initiative, University of Glasgow Lacey Jones, PhD candidate in English and Religious Studies at Yale University Rebecca McMackin, Arboretum Curator at Woodlawn Cemetery and “Thinking with Plants and Fungi” Program Associate | James Room |
12:15 – 1:00 | Lunch | HDS Commons / James Room |
1:00-1:30 | Keynote Address by Ned Friedman, Director, The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University | James Room |
1:30 | Board charter buses to The Arnold Arboretum Participants seeking transportation to board buses outside 45 Francis Avenue | Outside 45 Francis Avenue |
2:00 | Tours and networking at The Arnold Arboretum | Arnold Arboretum |
4:00 | (Optional) Board return buses to 45 Francis Avenue | Arnold Arboretum |
6:00 | Opening Reception for Phantom Tree Exhibition by Thinking with Plants and Fungi Postdoctoral Fellow, Elitza Koeva | 92 Seattle Street, Allston, MA 02134 |
| Saturday, May 17th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Event | Location |
9:00 – 9:15 | Welcome | James Room |
9:15 – 10:00 | Keynote Address with Banu Subramanian, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Wellesley | James Room |
10:00-10:30 | Coffee | |
10:30 – 12:15 | Panel: Rooted Resistance: Plants, Colonial Histories, Radical Futures Elaine Ayers, Lecturer, History of Science and Medicine, Yale University Rebecca Mendoza, PhD Student, Committee on the Study of Religion, Harvard University & Sabina Cruz de la Cruz,Instructor, Instituto de Docencia e Investigación Etnológica de Zacatecas Joela Jacobs, Assistant Professor of German Studies, University of Arizona & Isabel Kranz, Professor of Cultural Studies, University of Applied Arts, Vienna | James Room |
12:15 – 1:15 | Lunch | HDS Commons |
1:15 – 2:00 | Keynote Address with Jessica J. Lee, Writer and Author of Dispersals | James Room |
2:00 – 2:40 | Paper by Abigail Culpepper, PhD Candidate, Department of French and Francophone Studies, Brown University | James Room |
2:40-3:35 | Keynote Address with Michael Marder, Research Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country | James Room |
3:35-4:00 | Coffee | |
4:00-4:45 | Closing Keynote Address with Monica Gagliano, Research Scientist and Author of Thus Spoke the Plant | James Room |
4:45-5:00 | Conference Close | James Room |