Plants Native to the Americas Symposium: Rare Book Presentation

What do primary resources and plant history tell us about the survival of ecosystems today? Find out in a rare book presentation at ASU Library.

Review early modern printings and modern artists' books illuminating the history of plant life in the Americas with Seonaid Valiant, PhD, the Associate Curator for Latin American Studies and Director for Scholar Engagement in the ASU Library Special Collections. The presentation will share key texts for understanding the ecology of Mexico in the period from 1400-1700, including one of the first works to document plants from New Spain by Francisco Hernández. The Spanish Crown’s Physician to the Indies, Hernandez was the first Spaniard to consult with Indigenous people to record the names for the plants in their language (Nahuatl).

A collection nine years in the making, this rare grouping of titles likely doesn’t exist in any other library. Space is limited — RSVP now to secure your spot.

About visitor parking

Visitor parking is available in nearby ASU Apache Blvd. Parking Structure. Please allow extra time to park and walk to the venue. Parking fees may apply.

About the speaker

Seonaid Valiant, the Associate Curator for Latin American Studies and the Director for Scholar Engagement in Special Collections at the Arizona State University Library, holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago with special fields in Latin American and Art History and an MSLIS from the University of Illinois. Her book, "Ornamental Nationalism: Archaeology and Antiquities in Mexico", 1876-1911 (Brill, 2018), examines international debates over the meaning of Aztec symbols and the professionalization of archaeology in Mexico at the turn of the twentieth century. While working on the history of collecting, Valiant has traced the provenance of several important writings, including the Popul Vuh. Her current research project is an intellectual biography of the anthropologist and manuscript scholar Zelia Nuttall. She has published “Zelia Nuttall and the Tonindeye Codex: Recontextualization of a Mixtec Pictorial Manuscript,” in Printing History 31/32.

This event is supported by ASU Farm, Desert Botanical Garden, the Humanities Institute, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, 
Barrett, The Honors College, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems.

For a full listing of Humanities Institute events, visit our events page.