Sixth year HASTS PhD candidate Zachary La Rock and recent alumna Elena Sobrino PhD ’23 traveled to Philadelphia, PA to present at the University of Pennsylvania’s biennial EnviroLab conference. Taking place between 10 and 11 April, the theme of this year’s convening was “(Un)Doing Catastrophe.” The event drew more than fifty graduate student and early career scholars from across the United States and Canada.
Elena, who is currently a lecturer at the Tufts University STS Program, presented a paper entitled “Fatigue and the Politics of Closure: Testing the Limits of Modernist Crisis Management in the Flint Water Crisis.” Zachary, meanwhile, presented a shortened version of his most recent dissertation chapter, entitled “Curative Malaise: Science, Magic, and Unsettlement in an Agricultural Epidemic.”
In addition to the conference panels and a lively screening of short films, Zachary, Elena, and sixth year HASTS PhD candidate Rustam Khan enjoyed a reunion with eighth year PhD candidate Taylor Bailey, who serves as curatorial fellow at Philadelphia’s Science History Institute as he concludes his dissertation research.
