An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr Nicole Seymour (California State University, Fullerton and Environmental Humanities Fellow 2021):
Object Lessons from Glitter
Abstract:
Dr Nicole Seymour will share from her book in progress for Bloomsbury’s “Object Lessons” series, which the press describes as “a series of concise, collectable books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.” She will begin her talk by surveying the recent media backlash against glitter, which has brought new attention to this substance as a potential source of microplastics. She will then turn to glitter’s use as an activist tool in Mexico, the USA and Scotland, and end by considering the marketing of low- and no-plastic glitters to LGBTQ+ audiences—which, as she will explain, indicates the arrival of queer environmentalism. Nicole will welcome any anecdotes or fun facts you have to share about glitter, and will also be happy to discuss the process of writing for a public audience.
Please contact iash@ed.ac.uk for a link to join the seminar.