Seeds of Diaspora

Seeds of Diaspora traces the intertwined histories of humans and plants amid cultural and climatic change. Through literary, visual and research-based essays, the book explores how seeds bear witness to migration, resilience and transformation. From post-war landscapes reclaimed by plant life to the travels of fruit trees across continents, from seeds embedded in glacial ice to those carried along routes of labour and exile, Seeds of Diaspora re-imagines the map of human settlement as a living “route of roots.” The contributors—writers, artists and researchers from architecture, ecology, anthropology and the humanities—invite readers to see the built and natural worlds as coevolving fields of meaning. from the introduction: “This is a collection of works about plants and people in motion. It brings together writers, artists, and scholars across diverse disciplines to offer insights about the ethical dilemmas that arise in practices of cultivation, broadly defined. It considers the many ways that plants and people activate social and botanical systems. One objective is to inspire readers to think about how seeds and plants shape aspects of the broader human experience. Another objective is to offer a new approach to thinking about time. Seeds archive the past and serve as portals for future actions.”