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Gilbert White and his ContextsAn International Conference at Selborne, Hampshire, UK, 3-5 June 2025Keynote Speakers: Stephen Moss, Anne Secord, Jenny Uglow
Gilbert White (1720-93) has long been celebrated both as a keen-eyed naturalist and as a fine nature writer. The Natural History of Selborne (1789) garnered a cult following in the years after its publication in 1789, has never gone out of print, and is often considered as the guiding spirit of English nature writing. White's insights into the phenology of his Hampshire parish and his speculations about the migration of birds continue to interest and inspire naturalists and he has even been claimed as the first ecologist.
This international conference brought together academics, archivists, independent scholars, naturalists, and heritage providers working in both the sciences and the humanities to reassess White's life and work in the light of new findings and methodologies, to encourage and develop new networks and collaborations between White scholars, and to explore opportunities for collaborative research and publication.
The conference took place across three days in early June 2025 in Gilbert White's own house in Selborne. The organisers are now working to create a new Gilbert White Network as well as to curate a collection of essays building on the best papers delivered at the conference. Over the coming weeks and months, this website will be updated with the latest news and information.
The conference was organised by Brycchan Carey, Professor of English in the Department of Humanities at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Stephanie Holt, UK Biodiversity Training Manager in the Centre for UK Nature at the Natural History Museum, London. We continue to work in partnership with our colleagues at The Gilbert White House and Gardens in Selborne. Carey's research is generously supported by the British Academy and the Wolfson Foundation.
This site will be regularly updated with the latest news about the conference so please come back soon.
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