BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Telerik Inc.//Sitefinity CMS 15.1//EN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Eastern Standard Time BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=1SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=11 TZNAME:Eastern Standard Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250301T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=2SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:Eastern Daylight Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:The Anthropology Department welcomes Magdalena Stawkowski\, Ph. D. to deliver her lecture “Atomic Collective: Radioactive Life in Kazakhst an.”In the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse\, Kazakhstan inherited the remnants of one of the world’s most contaminated landscapes: the Semi palatinsk Test Site\, known locally as the Polygon. Resigned to dispossess ion\, residents have chosen to remain on the abandoned nuclear test site\, despite the isolation and the radioactive environment\, rather than face marginalization or the rigors of a neoliberal world. Atomic Collective exa mines this nuclear legacy through \;a decade-long ethnographic examina tion of the village of Koian\, situated on the border of the test site. Fa cing residual radiation all around them and isolation\, Koianers persist\, reshaping their pastoral existence among the ruins and scientific debates surrounding genetic damage.Drawing on first-hand accounts and archival re search\, this talk explores the resilience and everyday survival strategie s of a community left behind to fend for itself in the shadow of nuclear t esting. It offers a unique perspective on life in a nuclear zone and poses fundamental questions about human resilience and the impact of historical events on a collective identity. Atomic Collective sheds light on a commu nity overlooked in the larger Cold War histories of atomic testing.Magdale na Stawkowski is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina. She earned a Ph.D. from the Universit y of Colorado Boulder in 2014. Specializing in cultural and medical anthro pology\, Stawkowski focuses on militarized and nuclear spaces\, the politi cal economy of health\, and the socio-cultural legacies of Soviet era nucl ear testing in Kazakhstan\, where she has conducted more than a decade of fieldwork. DTEND:20260326T213000Z DTSTAMP:20260509T200601Z DTSTART:20260326T200000Z LOCATION: SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Atomic Collective: Radioactive Life in Kazakhstan UID:RFCALITEM639139395614391968 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

The Anthropology Department welcomes Magdal ena Stawkowski\, Ph.D. to deliver her lecture “Atomic Collective: Radioact ive Life in Kazakhstan.”

In the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s coll apse\, Kazakhstan inherited the remnants of one of the world’s most contam inated landscapes: the Semipalatinsk Test Site\, known locally as the Poly gon. Resigned to dispossession\, residents have chosen to remain on the ab andoned nuclear test site\, despite the isolation and the radioactive envi ronment\, rather than face marginalization or the rigors of a neoliberal w orld. Atomic Collective examines this nuclear legacy through \;a decad e-long ethnographic examination of the village of Koian\, situated on the border of the test site. Facing residual radiation all around them and iso lation\, Koianers persist\, reshaping their pastoral existence among the r uins and scientific debates surrounding genetic damage.

Drawing on f irst-hand accounts and archival research\, this talk explores the resilien ce and everyday survival strategies of a community left behind to fend for itself in the shadow of nuclear testing. It offers a unique perspective o n life in a nuclear zone and poses fundamental questions about human resil ience and the impact of historical events on a collective identity. Atomic Collective sheds light on a community overlooked in the larger Cold War h istories of atomic testing.

Magdalena Stawkowski is an associate pro fessor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Caroli na. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014. Sp ecializing in cultural and medical anthropology\, Stawkowski focuses on mi litarized and nuclear spaces\, the political economy of health\, and the s ocio-cultural legacies of Soviet era nuclear testing in Kazakhstan\, where she has conducted more than a decade of fieldwork.

END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR