Contact:
karenwonders@gmail.com
Karen Wonders, PhD (Uppsala)
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
Outdated CV (to be revised in 2026)
This website was launched in 2026. It is a visual narrative of illusionistic exhibits in natural history museums that typically feature mounted zoological specimens arranged within a foreground that replicates the natural habitat of the species. Ideally, this faux terrain merges imperceptibly into a painted background landscape, creating an illusion of atmospheric depth and distance. The website explores habitat dioramas as reflections of human imaginings of being both apart from and within the natural world during a tumultuous period spanning 19th century natural history and hunting narratives, evolutionary biology, and the current age of extinction and epic biodiversity loss.
The following three websites grew out of research projects exploring the intersections of art history and environmental history. They were created by Dr. Karen Wonders during her fellowship at the Institute for the History of Science at the University of Göttingen, under the direction of Professor Nicolaas A. Rupke, from 2004 to 2009. The original websites have been archived and remain available here:
This website is a visual narrative of the plight of Big Trees endemic to the Pacific Northwest and the devastating impact of rapacious clearcutting on their ancient forest habitats. It explores the pictures and politics of Big Trees, contrasting their cultural meanings in Europe and the New World. Focus is given to the vanishing giant cedar trees, on which the art of totem poles and indigenous carving traditions depend. An activist example is Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, which became an international flashpoint when its ecological integrity was threatened by the proposed construction of a parking lot.
This website is a visual narrative of the principal ways in which European colonists took control of the land and waters of what is now called “British Columbia,” displacing and impoverishing the First Nations peoples. Five categories of exploitation (Invasion, Forestry, Fisheries, Mining, and Development) are examined in the context of “Land Rights and Environmentalism,” with particular attention to the indigenous activists who defended their traditional territories and resources.
This website is a visual narrative of the Nuxalk House of Smayusta, created at the request of Nuxalk Hereditary Chief Qwatsinas (1947 – 2010). “The Sovereignty of the Nuxalk Nation comes from Tatau, the Creator. It is not subject to the approval of any other Nation. As the Nuxalk Nation, we have the sovereign right to jurisdictional rule within our own Territory.” An instance of Nuxalk land rights was the battle of ISTA on King Island to protect the old growth rainforest from clearcutting by Interfor.