Aftermath of nuclear weapons testing focus of lecture

The environmental and health consequences of nuclear weapons testing will be the focus of an upcoming lecture at Linfield College. Anthropologist Holly Barker will present “Nuclear Weapons Testing in the Marshall Islands: How Anthropology Helps in the Aftermath” on Monday, April 12, at 7 p.m. in Jonasson Hall, lower level of Melrose Hall, at Linfield.

During the Cold War, the United States used the Marshall Islands to test its atomic and thermonuclear weapons. These tests helped the U.S. “win” the Cold War, but as Barker’s participatory research demonstrates, they had devastating impacts on the health of the people and land in the Marshall Islands.

Barker, who teaches anthropology at the University of Washington, is the author of “Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World” and co-author of “The Consequential Damages of Nuclear War: The Rongelap Report.”

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call 503-883-2286.