At the turn of the 21st century, repositories of natural history specimens reestablished the significance of their collections by designating them the new role of saving biodiversity in a decaying world. Ironically, the collections of these research centers have been intricately tied to histories of violence and ecological destruction. Developing imperial histories of natural history collections further, this twofold session brings together stories of extraction, preservation, and (scientific) knowledge production that attend to practices of killing, hunting, displacement, experimentation, looting, confinement, and care. The papers focus on different locations and species to analyze both the creation of knowledge in natural history and the preservation of animal specimens through the lens of violence. What can we learn about the multiple forms of violence through natural history specimens?
In Part II: Caring, we attend to various practices of care involved in the creation and maintenance of natural history collections. How are violence and care related in turning animals into living or dead natural history specimens? How can we understand practices of neglect or desertion? The contributions examine violence and care in practices of killing, keeping alive, experimentation, conservation and knowledge production in the field, zoo, laboratory, museum display and depot. Lisette Jong discusses matters of care and violence in research on orangutans’ ability to speak in the 18th and 21st century. Hannah Kressig examines violence in keeping bonobos alive for experimental purposes in a medical field lab in formerly Belgian Congo. Annekathrin Krieger tells the story of the life and afterlife of chimpanzee Mafuka, who was displayed alive in the Dresden Zoological Garden in the 19th century. Hanna Wüste focusses on fish and mollusks, collected in the South Pacific by European trading companies, that today prompt conversations around preservation and decay.