[PAST EVENT] Prof Monica Seger Lecture, Dept of Modern Langs & Lits, Bellini Colloquium: Narrating Italy's Dioxin

October 29, 2015
3:30pm - 5pm
Location
Washington Hall, Room 315
241 Jamestown Rd
Williamsburg, VA 23185Map this location
The first site I investigate is Seveso, home in 1976 to one of the greatest immediate releases of dioxin--an odorless, carcinogenic industrial byproduct--into the atmosphere worldwide. The second, Taranto, currently produces over 80% of Italy's national dioxin output. In both sites, residents face significantly increased risk for a range of cancers, respiratory disease, and genetic abnormality. Remarkably, both sites also inspire a rich culture of creative narrative engagement with the twin processes of exposure and embodiment. From first-person testimony to fiction and film, Italy's dioxin narratives seek to register the burgeoning and largely imperceptible human health reality imposed by dioxin.
Contact

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