The University Libraries are hosting a graduate student speaker series in collaboration with the Graduate School and International Education. Students will present research they have conducted using materials from the Libraries’ Special Collections department. Jama Grove and Sarah Riva, both graduate students in history, are scheduled to speak, and a question and answer session will follow each presentation. Light refreshments will be served. This series is free and open to the public.
At 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, Grove will present on the use of pesticides in Arkansas farming, with an emphasis on DDT, a chemical compound used as an insecticide that entered the domestic market after World War II.
“I went into Special Collections expecting to find the same enthusiasm for DDT that was promoted in national publications,” said Grove. “Instead, researchers at the University of Arkansas consistently reported ecological and economic problems with widespread applications of DDT in agriculture.”
Her research is based on the work of Arkansan agricultural entomologists William J. Baerg and Dwight Eisley, who posed that the chemical may cause more problems than it solved.
“Decades before Silent Spring brought national attention to DDT’s ecological consequences, researchers at the University of Arkansas saw problems and worked out ways to minimize chemical use.”
Riva will present her research on the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in Arkansas, focusing on the civil rights struggle at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6.
“Recognizing the importance of providing graduate students with the opportunity to share their research with the university community, we’re delighted to offer this speaker series,” said Lori Birrell, head of Special Collections.
Graduate students from all majors who are interested in presenting on the research they have done using Special Collections materials are encouraged to visit the speaker series webpage.