Prof. David Bond speaks in ANTH 332 and SOC 211

On March 15, 2016, Cultural Anthropologist David Bond spoke at a joint session of Environmental Justice (ANTH 332, taught by prof. Vena) and Race and the Environment (SOC 211, taught by prof. Manigault-Bryant). Bond is faculty and senior associate in the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College. In preparation for class, students in both courses read his article “Governing Disaster: The Political Life of the Environment during the BP Oil Spill” (2013). In addition to analyzing that 2010 disaster, Bond outlined his research on the Alberta tar sands as well as the Keystone XL pipeline. Beyond crude oil, he talked about his present activism and pedagogical engagement surrounding water contamination in North Bennington and other communities with dangerous levels of PFOA in their drinking water.

This is the second time the two courses (scheduled at the same time) have come together to hear a guest speaker. On February 18, 2016, Anthropologist Keisha-Khan Perry gave a lecture about her book, Black Women Against the Land Grab: The Fight for Racial Justice in Brazil (2013).

Bond