Colonial Entomology and Labor Relations in Sumatra, 1880–1930 of the Gregorian Calendar

Description

How can we understand the embranglement between entomological practices, colonial extraction, and gendered labor histories? In this presentation, I discuss how knowledge production about tobacco-eating moths shaped the lived realities of plantation workers on the so-called East Coast of Sumatra. Drawing on European sources such as planters’ manuals, agricultural journals, and entomological correspondence, I analyze the ecological transformations and forms of violence that reshaped the island’s ecosystems. I then connect these ecological histories to the different forms of labor that Javanese women had to perform in order to survive within Sumatra’s plantation economy. In this context, I point to ambiguous forms of anti-colonial critique and resistance articulated by different Sumatran actors.

Period	23 Mar 2026
Event title	Insect Humanities - Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Event type	Lecture series, colloquium
Degree of Recognition	International