March 20, 2025

4pm

Sage 2313

Navigating Unnatural Bodies in Nuclear Ecology
This talk explores the boundary between normal and abnormal bodies in a world saturated with toxins through ethnographic cases of citizen radiation detection labs in post-nuclear Japan. I examine how the concept of a “natural” body is understood and experienced when toxins become normalized by the nation-state, and how varying definitions of abnormality shape the way in which proper care for bodies is understood and provided after nuclear disaster. Through radiation detection in bodily constituents such as urine, teeth, bones, breastmilk, and thyroids, individuals navigate the abnormality of their bodies, often in the face of stigma, limited healthcare from the nation-state, and the visibility of irradiated bodies.