Join us for a special online lecture with Renée Bergland, winner of the 2025 BSHS Hughes Prize, as she discusses her award-winning book Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science (Princeton University Press).
In Natural Magic, Bergland explores the intertwined imaginations of poetry and science in the nineteenth century, tracing how Emily Dickinson and Charles Darwin each redefined the boundaries between art, faith, and knowledge at the dawn of modern scientific thought.
Date: Tuesday, 2 December 2025
Time: 6:30 pm GMT
Location: Online via Zoom
Free event – registration required via Eventbrite
After registering, attendees will receive the Zoom link directly by email.
Register via Eventbrite to receive a Zoom link.
About the speaker:
Renée Bergland is Professor and Program Director of Literature and Writing at Simmons University in Boston. Her research and teaching focus on American literature, gender studies, and the intersections between literary imagination and scientific inquiry.
About the Hughes Prize:
The BSHS Hughes Prize, awarded biennially, recognises the best English-language book in the history of science that is accessible to a broad audience. Natural Magic was praised by the jury as
“a brilliant, engaging, and accessible consideration of two significant historical characters and their overlapping contexts in the history of science.”
Learn more about the Hughes Prize and this round’s shortlist on our website.
