Dirt events at Wellcome Collection
28 June 2011
This Thursday evening, the Wellcome Debate, running at Wellcome Collection, invites its audience to consider their preference for cleaning up or mucking in. In recent years, the old adage 'you have to eat a peck of dirt before you die' has been gaining scientific support. Advocates of the 'hygiene hypothesis' argue that eradication of bugs and parasites from our modem lives means ignoring an important part of our evolutionary history, with dire consequences for our health and wellbeing. Has the modern obsession with cleanliness gone too far?
BBC Radio 4 presenter Claudia Hammond brings together a panel of experts to help decide. Speakers at the debate are: Sally Bloomfield, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH); Adam T Fox, Consultant in Paediatric Allergy, Guy's & St Thomas' Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Graham Rook, UCL Centre for Infectious Diseases and International Health; and Virginia Smith, author of ‘Clean: A history of personal hygiene and purity’.
The Wellcome Debate is on Thursday 30 June, 19.00-20.30, and is free to all. You can book your place online.
Unclean Beings symposium
Those interested in a dirty weekend can also sign up for 'Unclean Beings', a special symposium that runs on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July, exploring cultural disgust in our relationship with filth.
‘Dirt’ has long been a potent label for deviance and taboo, applied to people and social groups who dare to transgress society’s boundaries. The physical becomes metaphorical, as those associated with sanitary waste, refuse and disease are linked to contamination of a more moral kind. Often this stigma has extreme consequences for the health and wellbeing of so-called ‘dirty’ people. But where does this powerful stigma come from? And what is it like to be regarded by the world as morally contaminated?
On the Friday evening, the UK’s premier storytellers, the Crick Crack Club, will enchant delegates with myths and metaphors spanning life, death and dirt, followed by complimentary drinks and a chance to view the 'Dirt' exhibition away from the crowds. On Saturday, a wide range of guests and experts explore dirt, health and related sciences in a series of fascinating talks. Speakers include 'Dirt' curator Kate Forde, writer and broadcaster Steven Connor, anthropologist Maureen Bloom, Belle de Jour blogger Brooke Magnanti and epidemiologist Elizabeth Pisani.
Tickets for 'Unclean Beings' are £30 full price/£20 concession for both days, including drinks on Friday evening and lunch, tea and coffee on Saturday. Find out more details and call 020 7611 2222 to book.
Image: A baby playing on a dirty lawn. Credit: Anthea Sieveking/Wellcome Images
