{ "152528-21913884": { "datetime_modified":"20260921T121107", "datetime_start":"20261026T160000", "datetime_end":"20261026T180000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-10-26", "date_end":"2026-10-26", "time_start":"16:00:00", "time_end":"18:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Toxic Landscapes: Industrial Chemistry and the Politics of Risk in the Modern World", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Toxic Landscapes: Industrial Chemistry and the Politics of Risk in the Modern World: Jacob Steere-Williams, College of Charleston", "event_subtitle":"Jacob Steere-Williams, College of Charleston", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"Industrial capitalism engendered human and animal bodies toxic in myriad and uneven ways. This talk examines the entanglements of public health and the body through the history of carbolic acid. Derived from coal tar production in British industrial factories in the early 19th century, carbolic acid exploded in use from the 1870s after Joseph Lister\u2019s pioneering use of the chemical in antiseptic surgery. Heralded as the first public health and surgical 'magic bullet', chemists and coroners 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 became 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 carbolic 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 20th century, including widespread water and soil pollution. This talk thus explores questions about risk and regulation, the unequal burdens of toxicity, and the longue dur\u00e9e invisible health impacts of chemicals.\n\nJacob Steere-Williams, PhD, is professor of history and medical humanities 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 history of public health, epidemic disease, and the environment, interrogating questions about disease surveillance, governance, and everyday scientific practice in Britain, across the Atlantic World, and the former 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.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"152528-21913884@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/152528", "building_id":"1000152", "building_name":"Tisch Hall", "campus_maps_id":"541", "room":"1014", "location_name":"Tisch Hall", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Science","Society","Technology"], "website":"", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Science, Technology and Society", "group_id":"3327", "website":"http:\/\/www.lsa.umich.edu\/sts" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152528_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21913884 } , "153147-21915178": { "datetime_modified":"20260930T191451", "datetime_start":"20261026T160000", "datetime_end":"20261026T173000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-10-26", "date_end":"2026-10-26", "time_start":"16:00:00", "time_end":"17:30:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Transfer Student Week: M-Connect Ice Cream Social", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Transfer Student Week: M-Connect Ice Cream Social", "event_subtitle":"", "event_type":"Social \/ Informal Gathering", "event_type_id":"19", "description":"Celebrate Transfer Student Week at the M-Connect Ice Cream Social on Monday October 26! Stop by for make-your-own sundaes and get to know other transfer students! RSVP at https:\/\/myumi.ch\/nVrWA.", "occurrence_notes":"If arriving after 5pm, bring your M-Card to access the building", "guid":"153147-21915178@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/153147", "building_id":"1000215", "building_name":"Student Activities Building", "campus_maps_id":"146", "room":"3003", "location_name":"Student Activities Building", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Transfer Students","Transfer Week","Transferweek2026"], "website":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oamiumich\/", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives (OAMI)", "group_id":"1012", "website":"" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_153147_original-1.png" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21915178 } }