Holistic Ecologies Before Modernity - with Minji Lee and François Quiviger.

Ecology is a modern (and western) idea of how forms of life interact with one another. James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis' controversial Gaia theory was one provocative modern elaboration of planetary holistic ecology. Their reference to the ancient Greek earth goddess however also encourages thinking about earlier ways of thinking about this. This seminar will discuss two fascinating pre-modern figures: the extraordinary cosmic polymath Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), and the fascinating French artisan philosopher of a sentient world, Bernard Palissy (1510-1590). Both had distinctive ideas about interrelations between humans and other life forms and provide striking ways of thinking about other western and non-western holistic ecologies. Professor Minji Lee teaches at Montclair State University. She has written widely on health, gender, and Hildegard. The Medieval Womb: Hildegard of Bingen’s Views on the Female Reproductive Body was published by Arc Humanities Press in 2025. Dr François Quiviger is an associate fellow at the Warburg Institute and the General Editor of Reaktion's 'Renaissance Lives' series. He has published widely on art history and the history of cognition and sensation. Bernard Palissy and the Arts of the Earth was published by Reaktion in 2025. Anthropocene Histories is a digital seminar convened by Sophie Page (UCL), Amanda Power (Oxford), John Sabapathy (UCL), Andrew Seaton (Manchester) and Robert Suits (UCL).