De-extinction - the resurrection of extinct species by back breeding, gene editing or synthetic biology - is a rapidly advancing biopolitical technology of conservation science which aims to create proxies of previously extinct species. This collection advances that de-extinction is a cultural and political phenomenon that intersects, communicates, and speaks to the limits of scientific discourses. It offers an intervention into debates about de-extinction from the rich and innovative perspectives of the humanities, social sciences, and creative arts. Inforegrounding non-traditional and interdisciplinary scholarship - from critical heritage studies, to bioethics, to science and technology studies (STS) and to animal studies - this collection examines, speculates, and narrates species resurrections and what they might mean at a critical juncture wherede-extinction appears to sit just on the horizon of possibility. This timely collection addresses de-extinction at a moment when biotechnology, private capital,and ecological crises areconverging in powerful and politically divisive ways. 

Chapters that consider the following topics from the perspectives of the humanities, social sciences and creative artsare particularly welcome: 

• Ancient DNA, megafauna de-extinction and untimely resurrection 

• Biopolitical analyses of de-extinction 

• The De-extinction of lesser-known species including plants 

• Alternative and speculative forms ofde-extinction,and resurrection 

• Cultural representations of de-extinctionincluding in fiction, film, poetry and art 

• Feminist and queer approaches to biotechnology and de-extinction 

• Ethnographic approaches including lab observations and field work with conservation scientists 

• The post-colonial and neo-colonial aspects of de-extinction research 

• Biobanks, frozen zoos, genetics arks and the securitisation of genetic material 

• Data circulation, sovereignty and governance 

• Reflections on the relationships between major multi-nationalbiotechnology companies, universities, museums, and zoos 

• Popular science and media engagements with de-extinction 

• New understandings of restoration and rewilding 

This collection will be published with a major international press, with priority given to open access options.  

500-word abstracts accompanied by a short bio are invited by December 1, 2025, with decisions communicated by the 20th of December 2025. 

Full chapters of 6-8000 words will be due by the end of September 2026. 

Please contact hannah.stark@utas.edu.au with questions, comments and submissions.