"Gotham and Its Garbage: A History of Public Waste, Public Health, and the Department of Sanitation," with Robin Nagle.

It took centuries for New York City to find the will to manage its municipal waste and to keep its streets clean. The effort found success for the first time in the 1890s, when political reform, public health campaigns combined with a moral teaching that tried to foster an upstanding citizenry by creating a well-ordered environment. The anthropologist-in-residence for the New York City Department of Sanitation will focus on the moment in the city's history when these strands came together and will describe how these changes had a lasting impact on the health and well-being of New Yorkers.