First of all, the herbarium will be digitised for conservation purposes and the data entered into both the Wolfenbütteler Digitale Bibliothek (Wolfenbüttel Digital Library, WDB) and – on the basis of individual specimens – the JACQ Virtual Herbaria botanical database. Secondly, the plants in the Herbarium Ruperti will be botanically identified and the origins of the specimens localised, thus providing a historical record of regional flora. Thirdly, the herbarium will be examined within the context of cultural, environmental and scientific history in order to make it a fruitful resource for contemporary discussions on biodiversity viewed from a historical perspective. The logics of botanical collecting and classification will be contextualised socially, culturally and within the history of science and supplemented by a discussion of the frameworks of nature, religion, social order and knowledge systems.
Events
International and interdisciplinary research exchange at the HAB (June 2023): Historische Herbarien interdisziplinär (an interdisciplinary look at historical herbaria)
A ‘Wolfenbütteler Heft’ on the outcomes of the discussions is being compiled.
Workshop for project participants and cooperation partners: 15 October 2024
Funded by:
- the Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur (Ministry for Science and Culture, MWK) and the Pro*Niedersachsen – Kulturelles Erbe (Cultural Heritage) programme
- Stiftung Braunschweigischer Kulturbesitz (SBK)
Duration: 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2027
Project participants: Dr Thomas Biskup
PURL: http://diglib.hab.de/?link=197