The Center for Leadership in Environmental Awareness and Research (CLEAR) is pleased to invite the campus community to a webinar, "The Toxic Imaginary: How People Come to “See” Contaminants in the Environment," on January 11, 2024 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. The seminar is free; registration is required. Registrants will receive the Zoom link via email.

Jennifer Peeples, Ph.D., professor and head of the Department of Communication Studies and Philosophy at Utah State University will be the guest presenter.

Abstract

Toxins have compounding invisibilities.  Some toxins are imperceptible without the aid of technologies (such as radiation). They can be normalized to the point that people do not perceive the contaminants in the products they use. Toxic sites may also be hidden from view behind fences or outside town. And toxins can be associated with politically “invisible” populations. That recognized, what we can’t see can hurt us. Toxins are now found in every body and every landscape on the planet.  This presentation explores the images (photographs, symbols, charts, etc.) through which people come to “see” toxins. 

Biography

Dr. Peeples is an award-winning teacher and researcher including being Utah State University’s Outstanding Professor of Honors for 2019-2020.  She studies communication around environmental issues, especially toxins and pollution. In addition to journal articles and book chapters, she is the co-author or co-editor of four books, most recently Communication, Race, and Outdoor Spaces in 2022.