#  Mass Historical Society: Sex in the Reeds: Disciplining Nature and Cultivating Virtue in the Back Bay Fens 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **January 10, 2017** 

 05:15PM - 07:30PM EST 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215**  



 

 



 

**[Zachary Nowak](http://scholar.harvard.edu/zacharynowak/home)**, Harvard University Comment: **Phyllis Andersen**, Independent Scholar

With the introduction of discourse about “invasive exotic species” in the 1980s, the reason for the removal of reeds planted along the Muddy River shifted, from socio-sexual disapproval of illicit activities to “ecoxenophobia.” This essay aims to historicize “exotic” species to show that their labeling as such is a social construct, not a biological fact. Improving the Fens through planting and weeding has for more than a century really been a project to improve people.

Seminars are free and open to the public; [RSVP required](mailto:seminars@masshist.org).  
[Subscribe](https://www.masshist.org/calendar/seminars/environmental-history) to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.



 

 



 

 See also:- [ Outside of Harvard ](/event-categories/outside-harvard)
 
 

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