On Monday 30 October 2023, Dario Fazzi will deliver the 2023 Roosevelt Environmental History Lecture. At this event, the RIAS/UCR “Sustaintable Freedoms” Essay Prize 2023 will also be awarded to Alessia Aresi.
The Roosevelt lecture, titled Not in My Ocean: Trans-Local Activism and Environmental Democracy, revolves around the ways in which popular protests for the protection of the oceans in the US, Zeeland, and elsewhere in Europe have contributed to the birth of a wider environmental awareness. In particular, Dario Fazzi will discuss how trans-local activism transformed the health of the oceans into a common, transatlantic concern and how this is further contributed to consolidating environmental democracy.
The lecture coincides with the launch of his new RIAS chair in Transatlantic Environmental History and the publication of his new book, Smoke on the Water: Incineration at Sea and the Birth of a Transatlantic Environmental Movement.
Dario Fazzi started as a postdoc, working on how Eleanor Roosevelt fostered global awareness of nuclear and environmental threats. After his first book, he has been writing about transnational activism, US imperialism, and the relations between the US military-industrial complex and the global environment. While conducting most of his research in Middelburg, Dario Fazzi also works at Leiden University, teaching courses on US and environmental history.
Essay Prize
On this occasion, the 2023 RIAS/UCR “Sustainable Freedoms Essay Prize” will also be awarded to Alessia Aresi for her work on “Fracking: The Choice between Black Gold and Fundamental Rights.” In this excellent essay, Alessia examines the practice of fracking in light of the connection between its problematic environmental consequences and its impact on human rights and social well-being. Drawing from two illuminating case studies in the United States – Pennsylvania and Texas – Alessia explains how the interaction of environmental, social, political, and economic factors created by fracking results in serious human rights issues.
The event will be held at the RIAS (Hofplein 16). Doors will open at 3:45 PM and the lecture starts at 4 PM. After the lecture, drinks will be offered. The program ends at 6 PM.
The invitation can be downloaded here.
To attend the lecture, please register here.