Beyond Audubon: Exploring the colonial world of The Birds of America

Beyond Audubon: Exploring the colonial world of The Birds of America

John James Audubon (1785-1851) was the creator of the world-famous ornithological masterpiece, The Birds of America. In 1838 the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow bought the first two volumes of the first edition of the gigantic double elephant folio sized books, one of which is always on show in our College Library.

Audubon was born to a plantation owning father on Haiti (formerly the French colony of Saint Domingue), six years before the 1791 Haitian Revolution. He bought and sold enslaved people during his life and benefited from their unacknowledged work supporting his expeditions. He also benefited from the local knowledge of indigenous Native American peoples, often naming bird species that were new to Europeans after his friends, supporters and scientists he admired.

The workshop will be led as a structured conversation, looking at different historic themed sources and prompts to encourage participants to respond and share their thoughts and feelings. This will include looking at our copy of JJ Audubon's The Birds of America in our new exhibition.

This event is being run as part of Black History Month 2026

Co-Hosts

The workshop will be co-hosted by Tasmin Evans, a researcher of colonialism, empire, slavery and their legacies, and an advocate for anti-racist practice. Tasmin is committed to addressing the colonial connections between Scotland and the Caribbean. Claire McDade, the other co-host, is Heritage Lead for The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, where we are working to develop an anti-racist approach to our historic collections through research, open dialogue and honesty.

We will run this workshop again on Saturday 24th October from 13:00-15:30

Further Information

On Saturday 3rd October the Great Scottish Run will take place, starting in front of the College from 08:30. We do not anticipate this causing any disruption to our event but please be aware that parking in the area will be restricted and the area will be busier than normal on that day.