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The British Academy gave the grant of £167,000

Dr Sadiah Qureshi, senior Lecturer in Modern History in the Department of History, has been awarded a £167,000 grant from The British Academy to write Vanished, a history of extinction for Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

This book will challenge current histories of extinction which separate human and cultural extinction from broader discussions of biological species loss. The book will draw together transcontinental archival research to reveal why animals, plants, fossils, some humans, languages and cultures have all been characterised as extinct. Building on histories of genocide, settler colonial studies and animal studies, Vanished will explore how the notion of extinction emerged and shaped humanity’s relationship with the natural world. 

Sadiah Qureshi said: “I could not be more thrilled to be awarded this Fellowship to write and make the most of the public engagement opportunities it provides”.

The project will be delivered in the run up to the 60th anniversary of the first published Red Lists of endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in 2021.’

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