The main objective of this colloquium is to highlight the importance that exotic and strange animals had in the Renaissance world, during the Age of Discoveries, and to point out their role in the Early Modern society, the dimension of their importation and exploration and the impact they had on the emerging natural sciences. Moreover we would like to consolidate and establish the early modern natural history as a discipline in the Portuguese scholar world of the 21st century. The colloquium will also give a contribution to the current international debate about the Iberian role on the emergence of Modern Science in Western culture. Using examples and case-studies of the 15th and 16th century of Portugal and the Overseas, as well as from all over Europe, we aim at placing exotica and strange animals into the European mainstream of natural history. Animals from air, water and land will be addressed by different researchers with distinct backgrounds, providing a framework for students and scholars to develop their work and further deepen their investigation and networking in this scientific domain. The colloquium also aims at attracting students and researchers from the history of science, environmental history and even from biology and environmental conservation.
Tec Labs - FCUL
Escola de Mar
