Helen Macdonald & Anna Deplazes Zemp

Description

Bestselling author Helen Macdonald combines in her texts the fascination with birds and nature in general with observations on their threats. She discusses her extensive research on Midway Island, invasive species, plastic pollution, and resistance with environmental ethicist Anna Deplazes Zemp. Additionally, the conversation explores the relationships between humans and the non-human world and how these relationships shape our sense of place and homeland in the context of current political and ecological crises. In cooperation with the SNF-funded project «Narrating Variety» led by Claudia Keller, University of Fribourg & the Atelier Mondial. The conversation will be conducted in English. Participants and additional information: HELEN MACDONALD (*1970) is an author, poet, illustrator, and science historian. Her book «H wie Habicht» was a bestseller and was adapted into a film in 2025 with Claire Foy. Recently published: «Abendflüge» (2021). «Prophet» (with Sin Blaché, Hanser, 2023) is her first novel. Macdonald regularly writes for The New York Times Magazine and lives in Suffolk. ANNA DEPLAZES ZEMP, a PhD microbiologist, is senior scientist and lecturer at the Institute of Ethics at the University of Zurich. Her research interests lie at the intersection of biology and philosophy, with a particular focus on (relational) values of nature. CLAUDIA KELLER, a PhD literature scholar, is SNF-funded professor at the University of Fribourg's Institute of Environmental Sciences and Humanities. She currently leads two research projects on biodiversity narratives and narratives about negative values of wetlands.

Highlights

• Conversation with bestselling author Helen Macdonald
• Topics: Nature, environmental ethics, and responsibility
• In cooperation with the project «Narrating Variety»

General Information

Helen Macdonald and Anna Deplazes Zemp discuss the fascination with nature and the challenges that threaten it. The conversation takes place at the Literaturhaus Basel and explores the relationships between humans and the non-human world.

Location

Barfüssergasse 3, 4051 Basel, Switzerland

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