Writing Histories of Extinction for Just Futures - Sadiah Qureshi, PhD

Writing Histories of Extinction for Just Futures

We craft many narratives to make sense of, and wrestle meaning from, extinction. Yet far too many histories remain untold, forgotten, or erased. Epics in which heroic scientists discover lost species and formulate new theories about their extinction are the most common ways of tracing scientific debates about extinction. In contrast, this lecture argues that histories of extinction exploring the entangled roots of extinction, empire, and race in the making of the modern world are a valuable ethical endeavour that allow us to imagine and create a just future for all life on earth.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Sadiah Qureshi holds the Chair in Modern British History at the University of Manchester. Her latest book Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction (Allen Lane, 2025) explores the entangled histories of extinction, empire, and genocide in the making of the modern world. She cannot bear the thought of living in a world without birdsong, trees, or tigers.

To RSVP a group: Instructors who wish to bring a class to the lecture are welcome to do so. Please RSVP by emailing Cedge directly. Include your course number, instructor name, and number of students who will attend. Email us to RSVP a group: ccej@sfu.ca

Made possible with funding from: Cassidy Centre for Educational Justice; Faculty of Education’s Research Hub; Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies; David Lam Centre; Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology; Department of History; Department of Geography; Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies; and the School of Continuing Education at University of the Fraser Valley. We thank all co-sponsoring academic units for their contributions to this event.