Past Events

In 1705 the remarkable work Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium by Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717) was published in Amsterdam, the first illustrated overview of the plants and insects of Surinam. In this lecture, held in conjunction with the republication of her masterpiece, Merian will be introduced as an independent woman who traveled from Germany to the Netherlands and Surinam, producing groundbreaking work as an entomologist.

Who Controls Women’s Health?: A Century of Struggle is a free, three-part talk series that examines key battles over women’s ability to control their bodies, health choices, and fertility. It is developed in collaboration with the Museum of the City of New York and supported by a grant from the Humanities New York.

This Colloquium marks the starting point of an important project: the publication of a facsimile edition in English of the richly illustrated Le Jardin de Monceau (1779) by Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle (1717-1806). Designed by Carmontelle for the Duc de Chartres, the garden still survives as the much-frequented Parc Monceau in the heart of Paris. The original layout of the garden, with its rich architectural and sculptural features, formed an ideal setting for the social life of the fashionable elite shortly before the French Revolution. The Jardin de Monceau by Carmontelle is a key cultural monument in the history of European garden design.