The Plath Conservatory. In a Spring 2023 Anthropology course, Smith College students majoring in Biological Science, English, Environmental Science and Policy, Computer Science, Anthropology, Government, and more gathered together to investigate the possibility that conservatories are relevant to our understanding of the human condition, focusing on Sylvia Plath’s (‘55) botanical encounters at Lyman in the 1950s. Student essays examine one plant species that features in Plath’s work, accounting for its ecology, geography, and taxonomy; the symbolic work it does in Plath’s writing; and the historical context in which Plath came to know it. Instructor: Colin Hoag, Anthropology
