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UID:9998c5bf-1fe1-458b-b640-9baa9dd23151@findlocal.community
DTSTAMP:20261026T224504Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20261026T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20261026T180000
SUMMARY:Toxic Landscapes: Industrial Chemistry and the Politics of Risk i
 n the Modern World
DESCRIPTION:Industrial capitalism engendered human and animal bodies toxi
 c in myriad and uneven ways. This talk examines the entanglements of pub
 lic health and the body through the history of carbolic acid. Derived fr
 om coal tar production in British industrial factories in the early 19th
  century\, carbolic acid exploded in use from the 1870s after Joseph Lis
 ter’s pioneering use of the chemical in antiseptic surgery. Heralded a
 s the first public health and surgical 'magic bullet'\, chemists and cor
 oners clamored to legislate carbolic acid as a dangerous poison- by 1900
  carbolic acid poisonings and suicides were significant causes of death 
 around the Atlantic World. By the early 20th century\, carbolic acid bec
 ame a common household tool in the fight against germs and in the beauty
  industry. Looming was the nature of risk. I show how exposure to carbol
 ic acid skin damage and death differentially impacted women and laborers
 \, particularly in the Global South. Carbolic acid's use in the plastics
  industry\, and as an insecticide led to a surge in production in the 20
 th century\, including widespread water and soil pollution. This talk th
 us explores questions about risk and regulation\, the unequal burdens of
  toxicity\, and the longue durée invisible health impacts of chemicals.
  Jacob Steere-Williams\, PhD\, is professor of history and medical human
 ities at the College of Charleston\, and Fellow of the Royal Historical 
 Society. He serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of the History of 
 Medicine and Allied Sciences\, and Editor of the Epidemic Histories book
  series with Johns Hopkins University Press. His work explores the histo
 ry of public health\, epidemic disease\, and the environment\, interroga
 ting questions about disease surveillance\, governance\, and everyday sc
 ientific practice in Britain\, across the Atlantic World\, and the forme
 r British colonies. In addition to dozens of articles and op-eds\, he is
  the author of the 2020 book The Filth Disease and the 2023 Port Cities 
 of the Atlantic World.\n\nMore info: https://events.umich.edu/event/1525
 28\n\nhttps://findlocal.community/event/9998c5bf-1fe1-458b-b640-9baa9dd2
 3151
LOCATION:The University of Michigan\, Ann Arbor\, MI
URL:https://findlocal.community/event/9998c5bf-1fe1-458b-b640-9baa9dd2315
 1
STATUS:CONFIRMED
SEQUENCE:0
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