A leading voice on global plastic pollution and its ties to colonialism plans to present research at Mary Baldwin University on Nov. 15.
Dr. Max Liboiron, associate professor of geography at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, develops and promotes equitable research methods across disciplines. As director of the marine plastic pollution lab CLEAR, Liboiron uses values-based methods to conduct research.
Liboiron’s lecture at 7 p.m. in Francis Auditorium in the Pearce Science Center is free and open to the public.
Community members are also encouraged to attend and for a Q&A at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 in Francis Auditorium.
Both events are free and open to the public.
During the visit to MBU, Liboiron will present on “Pollution is Colonialism, Science is a Land Relation,” also the title of a book authored by Liboiron.
Liboiron’s work bridges science and technology studies, Indigenous studies and the emerging field of discard studies to provide a framework for understanding all research methods as practices that align with or against colonialism. Discard studies is a structure for understanding social structures that are built upon the discarding of certain people, places and things.
Plastic pollution is of particular interest for Liboiron, who has partnered with the Nunatsiavut Government’s Department of Lands and Natural Resources, a branch of the autonomous inuit governing body in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to institute a community-based plastic pollution monitoring program in their local water, snow, shorelines and traditional wild foods.
Liboiron has influenced Canadian national policy on plastics and Indigenous research.
For more information, visit marybaldwin.edu
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Crystal Graham
