The Exit Zero Project

Christine Walley will present a free public lecture, “The Exit Zero Project,” at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101.

Walley is an associate professor of anthropology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Exit Zero Project is described as “a transmedia effort to tell the story of the traumatic effect of deindustrialization on Southeast Chicago — once part of one of the largest steel-producing regions in the world.”

The steel mill her father worked in was closed in 1980, part of the deindustrialization happening throughout the United States. The disruption “propelled Walley into a career as a cultural anthropologist,” say Stefan Helmreich, MIT. Describing her 2013 book of the same name, he says, “In Exit Zero, she brings her anthropological perspective home, examining the fate of her family and that of blue-collar America at large.” In a combination of memoir and ethnography, Walley intertwines personal narratives and family photos with an assessment of the social impacts of deindustrialization.

In addition to the book, the project includes a feature-length documentary film and will include an interactive website.

The event is sponsored by Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights, and was originally a part of the Chicago symposium, but was postponed because of travel issues.

Grinnell welcomes and encourages the participation of people with disabilities. Rosenfield Center has accessible parking in the lot to the east. Room 101 is equipped with an induction hearing loop system. You can request accommodations from the event sponsor or Conference Operations.