The War on Plastics: A History of the Anti-Plastics Movement in the U.S.

A lecture by Dr Elsa Devienne (Northumbria University) for the Centre for International History Seminar Series and co-organised with the Centre for Environmental History.

Amidst negotiations for a global treaty on plastic pollution slated for signature in 2025, anti-plastics initiatives are regularly making headlines. But anti-plastics campaigning has a long history. While scholars have examined the 1960s perception shift that saw plastics go from miraculous material to a despised symbol of conformism and artificiality, the scholarship is sparse on what happened afterwards as the ecological sensitivities of the first Earth Day (in 1970) subsided. This talk will examine the origins of today’s anti-plastics movement since the 1970s until today, focusing on its role in shaping mainstream environmentalist rhetoric and tactics and its relationships with connected fights, such as climate change, and environmental justice demands.

The Centre for International History draws on the burgeoning insights of scholars in the past few decades that history does not stop at the border of the nation-state.  International history explores comparative approaches and uncovers transnational flows of commerce, politics, culture, and ideas. The Centre's research seminars and public events will display these methods while examining historical developments across the globe especially in the late modern period.

Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact:gearyd@tcd.ie