<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">MIT Seminar on Environmental and Agricultural History </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 21.6px; font: normal normal normal 21px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; color: rgb(45, 40, 41); min-height: 25px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 21.6px; font: normal normal normal 21px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; color: rgb(45, 40, 41); "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4" face="Arial"><b>William Beinart </b></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 21.6px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; color: rgb(45, 40, 41); "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4">African Studies Centre, University of Oxford</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; min-height: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><b> </b></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; min-height: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4" face="Arial"><b>Plant Transfers, Bio-invasions, and Biodiversity: An African Historical Perspective</b></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4" face="Arial"><b><br></b></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 14.4px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Plant transfers have been central to world history -- not least that of the European empires of the last 500 years. From the vantage point of Africa, Alfred Crosby's discussion of asymmetrical plant exchange ("ecological imperialism") is problematic. The most important flow of plants was against the routes of power: Africans welcomed many American plants, including useful invaders and weeds, as well as crops. The talk will focus on two species that are seen as bio-invaders in South Africa, prickly pear (from the Americas) and black wattle (from Australia). But these designations are complicated by the economic and cultural values attached to "alien" or introduced plants. Can we introduce a social and historical dimension to the debate, and explore the idea of bio-cultural diversity?</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 14.4px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Friday, November 18, 2011 </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">2:30 to 4:30 pm </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 16.8px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Building E51 Room 095</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 16.8px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Corner of Wadsworth and Amherst Streets, Cambridge </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 16.8px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; min-height: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Sponsored by MIT’s History Faculty and the Program in Science, Technology, and Society. For more information or to be put on the mailing list contact <a href="mailto:mcollett@mit.edu">mcollett@mit.edu</a>. </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Myriad Pro'; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="MyriadPro-Semibold" size="4"><b><br></b></font></div><br></body></html>