Sadiah Qureshi: What is it like to go extinct?

More than 90% of species that have ever existed on Earth are gone. We tend to view extinction as an unfortunate act of nature, or an inevitable tragedy of the modern world. But what if extinction isn’t as natural as we think?

Long before we started worrying about a sixth mass extinction, the concept of vanishing wasn’t just an evolutionary theory, it was a political choice.

Come and explore how 18th-century fossil discoveries transformed our view of the world, and how European empires weaponised the “inevitability” of extinction to justify genocide, imperialism, and ecological destruction, with Professor Sadiah Qureshi.

This event is in partnership with The Trouble Club.

Event Schedule

6:30pm: Pre-event socialising and networking
A cash bar will be available for refreshments.

7:00pm: Event begins

8:00pm: Event ends

Speakers

Sadiah Qureshi is the Chair of Modern British History at the University of Manchester and a leading historian of science, race, and empire. Her latest book, Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction, was named one of the Telegraph’s Greatest Books of 2025 and a Smithsonian Magazine Best Science Book.