A snail’s life

by Marketing & Communications,

  • Anna Tsing, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, speaks from a podium in Hudson Hall
    Professor Anna Tsing from the University of California Santa Cruz presents the 2018 Dempsey Lecture in Hudson Hall.
  • A performer with a lacy white blanket draped over their head and body
    A performer dramatizes the story of the golden treasure snail.
  • The crowd at Hudson Hall watches Anna Tsing, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, speak from a podium
    Professor Anna Tsing from the University of California Santa Cruz presents the 2018 Dempsey Lecture in Hudson Hall.

On March 2, Anna Tsing, a professor in UC Santa Cruz’s anthropology department presented the 2018 Dempsey Lecture in Hudson Hall. Entitled “The Golden Snail Opera,” Tsing’s multimedia presentation utilized video and performance to tell the story of the golden treasure snail.

After the species was introduced to Taiwan in 1979 as a new food source, golden snails ravaged rice paddies becoming a major agricultural pest. Tsing’s performance highlighted how “friendly farmers” who didn’t use poison managed and integrated the invasive invertebrates to increase rice production.

The event was sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation and Willamette University’s Environmental and Earth Sciences Department. The series brings leading speakers to campus each year for discussions with students and to deliver a presentation that addresses significant environmental issues and challenges.

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