The Science History Institute has teamed up with online learning platform Roundtable to offer you compelling courses from the history of science. This online course features the Institute’s Roger Turner, curator of instruments and artifacts, who will show what an ordinary shopping bag reveals about the science and politics of plastic.
Course Overview
You can learn a lot about plastic—and the society that makes it—by closely observing a familiar object through the lens of history. As activists and governments work to reduce plastic pollution, history can help us see how we got to where we are, and how it might have been different. A close reading of one ordinary bag reveals a story at once tragic, maddening, and inspiring.
Science History Institute curator Roger Turner will teach participants how to decode the symbols and messages printed on plastic. We’ll learn about the science of polymerization and the politics of recycling. We’ll discover why shoppers initially hated plastic bags and how industry persuaded customers to accept them. From safety warnings to resin codes to distinctive tiny flaps, bags reflect a contentious history of innovation and resistance. Bring your own bag to read along!
This is a live, virtual course hosted by Roundtable, which includes interactive opportunities and post-course recordings available for all course participants.
Cost
$44 for the course
About Roger Turner
Roger Turner is a historian of science and museum curator. He studies how our daily lives are affected by the invisible work of nerds, especially in chemistry and environmental science. When he’s not helping visitors understand how a stylish mid-century modern gas chromatograph measured water pollution, he writes for Distillations magazine and produces digital exhibits. He holds a PhD in the history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania.
About Roundtable
Roundtable by the 92nd Street Y, New York, is an online learning platform featuring live courses and Q&A sessions with some of the greatest minds of our time: world-renowned historians and scholars, Pulitzer Prize-winning writers, political pundits, and acclaimed food and wine experts, among others. All courses include interactive opportunities with instructors.
Featured image: Kroger Disposable Plastic Shopping Bag, 1990s.
Science History Institute
More events
Virtual Talk: Women in Chemistry
Join us on Zoom for a virtual talk highlighting the central role of women in shaping chemistry and the material sciences throughout history.
Transitioning to a Sustainable Chemical Industry: Lessons from History
At the T. T. Chao Symposium on Innovation experts in the history of the chemical industry will convene to identify a path to netzero, biodiversity protection, and the alleviation of chemical pollution.
Animals in Historic Philadelphia: Food, Labor, and Industry
Learn about the surprising role of animals in shaping urban life in the 19th and early 20th centuries.