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ANT 6 Uppsala Research seminars in Cultural Anthropology Spring 2021 Dr Philip Kao (Associate in the Department of Anthropology, Harvard University)

Frack it Now, Frack it Later: Temporality and Aspiration in a Murky Setting

Williston, North Dakota (aka ‘Boomtown, USA’) situated in the Badlands of the United States of America and sitting atop the geological Bakken Formation, has been touted as the nation’s oil and gas fracking ‘ground zero’. This presentation will provide a penetrating and ethnographic look into the development and 'sociology' of this particular boomtown. The content of this talk draws from research investigating the narratives, imaginaries, and lives of energy workers, local residents, farmers, and politicians. These ethnographic forays will lead in the end towards an analysis of how temporality plays a (c)overt role in the qualitative and structural experiences of inequality and exploitation in Boomtown, USA.

Apr 14, 2021 10:15 AM in Stockholm