Gabrielson to Give UW Faculty Senate Talk Nov. 15

Associate Professor Teena Gabrielson, head of the University of Wyoming Department of Political Science, will give the fall Faculty Senate Speaker Series talk Tuesday, Nov. 15. The event is free and open to the public.

Gabrielson will discuss the current cultural engagement with cancer in her talk, titled “Life at All Costs: The Normalization of Chemotherapy in Contemporary Television and Film,” at 4:10 p.m. in Room 302 of the Classroom Building.

The lecture asks how the normalization of chemotherapy on the large and small screen is redefining our concept of life. In these portrayals, living with cancer becomes a state of perpetual emergency that demands action, Gabrielson says.

“These narratives legitimize a cultural logic of ‘life at all costs’ that privileges action and individualizes a cancer ‘battle’ that is better understood collectively,” Gabrielson says. “A critical reading of these dramas then urges a large-scale rethinking of the chemical saturation of our natural environments, bodies, economies and culture.”

The lecture comes from her book manuscript, titled “The Normalized Toxic Body: Fleshing Out an Inclusive Socio-Ecological Politics.”

Gabrielson received her B.A. from Macalester College (1992), and her M.A. (1997) and Ph.D. (2002) in political science, both from the University of California-Davis.

She is a political theorist working primarily on questions of environmental citizenship and environmental justice. Gabrielson has published numerous articles and book chapters, and recently co-edited the “Oxford Handbook of Environmental Political Theory.”

Gabrielson has taught American political thought, environmental justice, introduction to political philosophy, and theories and practices of citizenship. Since joining UW in 2006, Gabrielson has earned the Seibold Professorship and also several teaching awards.