My name is Anjou Kang-Stryker and I will be a U4 student in history during the upcoming semester. This summer, I spent two and a half months working remotely with the Jardins de Métis on a history research project for their exhibition on the exotic plants they grow at the gardens and the rich history behind them.
The Jardins de Métis are a botanical garden and cultural hub located in Gaspésie, Quebec. They were founded by Elsie Reford in 1962 and have since become a Natural Historical Site of Canada as they are closely tied to the cultural heritage of the area, while also being considered the northernmost botanical gardens in the western hemisphere.
My research focused on the complicated past of the Tibetan blue poppy—one of the most highly-prized flowers amongst colonial plant-explorers—and the life of the person credited with first importing the plant to the West, Frank Kingdon-Ward. Indeed, though I was initially skeptical about working with a botanical garden given my field of study, I soon realized that this internship was in fact perfectly tailored to my interests during my interview with the director, Alexander Reford. He explained to me in great detail the nature of the project, the fact that I would be working independently, and the subject of the research, and I was instantly sold. As a student specializing in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, more precisely, in the dynamics and legacies of different forms of imperial exchange, this project allowed me to broaden the scope of my historical interests by using botany as a case study for these factors. Furthermore, given my interests in the British, Russian, and Chinese empires, this project represented a unique intersection of their three histories in the form of plant exploration and its fascinating place in the geopolitical rivalries of the late nineteenth century.
As an intern, my tasks were fairly straightforward, since I was working on similar themes I had previously studied in my honors seminar, and I worked independently for the most part. However, it was a welcome challenge to produce work that was to directly serve a collective project, and eventually an exhibition, rather than a grade for myself. I was first assigned with developing a short biographical piece on the explorer Frank Kingdon-Ward. As a central figure to the project, it was important to understand the nature of his character and his suitability as a protagonist of the exhibition’s narrative. To do this, I read several of his travel diaries in their entirety, used archives from the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, and consulted with secondary literature pertaining to his legacy and that of similar figures. This was a fascinating task, as I was myself responsible for effecting a judgment of his character and parsing his real intentions from the imperialist discourse used by colonial scientists and explorers during his time. Later, the primary focus of my research became more complex, as I was to compile material and outline perspectives on the more general questions of plant ownership, the economics of botany, and ethics in the colonial sciences. Working closely with my project supervisor, I produced several critically-minded pieces on these themes, which was the part I enjoyed the most. As someone who is oriented towards more theoretical history, this was a supremely valuable experience for my academic development. These works were also shared with the producers of a documentary that featured segments on the Jardins and the Tibetan blue poppy.
My internship experience was not without challenges, however. I found working online especially hard, and there were many moments where I felt unsure about the direction of my research without regular contact with my supervisor. It was also hard at times to stay fully focused and connected to my work since I was working in a mostly independent manner. Thankfully, Mr. Reford was very understanding of my situation and our contact became much closer in the latter stages. We engaged in regular video calls to check-in and direct my research, and my workflow improved substantially. His feedback was extremely valuable towards developing my methods and ultimately accomplishing something I had never done before.
Although I did not receive academic credit for this internship, I cannot thank the Dean of Arts Development Fund enough for making this experience financially viable for me. Thanks to this award, I was able to cover my living expenses this summer all the while developing my academic and professional capacities in the area that I am passionate about.
