SAN ANGELO, TX - Angelo State University will host a special presentation by Dr. Andrew Baker, associate professor of history at Texas A&M University-Commerce, for the fall 2024 installment of the ASU History Lecture Series on Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the Houston Harte University Center.
Baker's presentation titled "Arsenic: Poison of Opportunity, Pesticide of Choice, Persistent Contaminant" will begin at 6 p.m. in the University Center's C.J. Davidson Conference Center and is open and free to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
An avid researcher of agricultural and environmental history, Baker will discuss the paradox at the center of arsenic's history of use in rural Texas. In the public imagination, the word "arsenic" conjures tales of murders, suicides and human tragedy. Yet, in the early 20th century, arsenic was one of the most widely used chemicals on Texas farms and ranches. Baker will explore the history of these uses and the environmental legacies and injustices that they have left across the state.
A faculty member at A&M-Commerce since 2015, Baker holds a bachelor's degree in history from Grove City College, a master's degree in American history from James Madison University and a doctorate in history from Rice University. He is a member of the Texas State Historical Association and Southern Historical Association, and he sits on the Editorial Board of the Agricultural History journal.
ASU's History Lecture Series is hosted by the Dr. Arnoldo De Leon Department of History and funded by the department's Dorsey B. Hardeman Endowed Chair in History. Established in 2019 by Dr. Kenna Archer, associate professor of history, the lecture series annually presents a noted scholar to give a featured presentation on a historical topic of regional interest.
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