On April 7, foreign language professor Chris Schulenberg and history professor Melissa Gormley spoke about science’s effects and negative impacts at Dazzled with Science?: Mexico’s Twenty-First Century Novel and Globalization’s Unsavory Consequences.

Schulenberg spoke about two different books both written by Jorge Volpi, En busca de Klingsor and No sera la Tierra, that deal with literature, science and money. During his talk, Schulenberg talked about the potential harms of science. One example he used was herbicides that get rid of pests, but make it difficult for bees to pollinate plants.

“The last, best hope of the world, is a jailbird,” quoted Schulenberg about one of the characters in No sera la tierra. The character’s name was Yuri, and he ends up in jail at the end of the book. It’s significant because he has all the means to bring the world together, but he’s locked up.

Schulenburg also spoke about what he called the “(Dep)End times.” This refers to the idea that society has become increasingly dependent on science and scientists to solve problems. This can result in drawbacks that negatively affect the environment such as herbicides.

Gormley spoke about the “life a building,” opening with a few murals from Diego Riveira. Gormley also talked about the Massacre of 1968, which occurred in Mexico City. A large number of students were protesting the repressive Mexican government at the ruins of Tlateloloco. The Mexican government ordered the protesters to disperse because the Olympics were two weeks away. When they refused, both the military and the police were dispatched to force them to move. The exact number of students killed is still a mystery, but eyewitnesses said that the sanitation department had to use garbage trucks to haul away the corpses.

Following that, Gormley discussed La Decada Perdida. La Decada Perdida or “The Lost Decade,” was a terrible time for Mexico, with inflation and unemployment at record levels. In addition, in 1985, Mexico City was hit by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake, which devastated the lives of its inhabitants.

Following that earthquake in Mexico City, the Mexican government wanted to build a police tower in one of the buildings that had been abandoned after the quake. The citizens refused, and an artist named Pedro Reyes came up with the idea to put in a vertical garden instead. Gormley told us that it hasn’t happened yet, because “Nobody wants to walk up to the 34th floor and water plants.”

During the question session, Schulenberg revisited the “evil side of science” and explained that science can be used in war by providing bombs.

In a discussion about the relationships between governments and their people, Gormley spoke about Brazil’s citizens, and their serious distrust in their government. One of the reasons for this distrust was that it is illegal for hospitals and doctors to share patient information in regards to research.

“It [the forum] was fascinating because it’s an area where I have no experience,” psychology lecturer Becky Fernette said. “I appreciate making connections between things I had previously known and the new things I’m learning.”

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