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SUMMARY:The enigma of environmentalism: the power of knowledge and the pow
 er of memory - Frank Uekotter (University of Birmingham)
DTSTART:20150212T153000Z
DTEND:20150212T170000Z
UID:TALK57275@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Richard Staley
DESCRIPTION:Few recent phenomena have received more divergent readings tha
 n modern environmentalism. Even its general nature is open to debate: was 
 environmentalism a social movement\, or a broader cultural force\, or even
  a 'new enlightenment'\, as Joachim Radkau argued in a recent book? This b
 ig-picture talk seeks to gain a better understanding of environmentalism a
 s it evolved post-1945 through the combined forces of memory studies and t
 he history of knowledge. More than other movements\, environmentalism reli
 ed on the cognitive skills and the political pull of scientific expertise.
  At the same time\, environmentalism was perhaps the most powerful transfo
 rmative force of science in the last third of the 20th century. However\, 
 while scientific expertise and its peculiar blinders have received great a
 ttention\, the power of memory is more of a hidden force – though one th
 at has grown in strength over time. We cannot understand policies on DDT w
 ithout the legacy of Rachel Carson or the row over genetically modified or
 ganisms without the experience of high-risk technologies such as nuclear p
 ower and industrial chemistry. So as it stands\, environmentalism is about
  expertise\, power\, economic interests\, and a legacy\, with the strains 
 between these forces becoming ever more obvious. In conclusion\, this talk
  will argue that global environmentalism as we know it may prove to be a o
 ne-generation project – and that may not even be a bad thing.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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