Details

This talk explores the material biography of paraffin in the modern era from two complementary perspectives. First, it traces paraffin’s trajectory within the history-of-science, from early chemical definitions and industrial production—derived from wood tar, coal, and petroleum—to its diverse applications from the mid-eighteenth century onwards. Focusing on paraffin wax as an embedding medium in histology and a material for crafting moulage casts in dermatology, the talk highlights its role as a seemingly inert yet resilient substance in the life sciences around 1900.

Challenging this notion of inertness, the second part of the talk turns to recent ecological research that reveals paraffin’s environmental persistence and toxicity. Poorly biodegradable, paraffin accumulates harmful compounds and enters rivers, lakes, and oceans through sewage systems, posing significant ecological threat. To address paraffin’s durability and agency, the talk juxtaposes the history-of-science account with an experimental counter-narrative that gives voice to paraffin’s long-term drift through the world’s oceans today and retells its story from the material’s own point of view.

Diese Veranstaltung findet in Kooperation mit der Graduate School of the Arts and Humanities (GSAH) und dem Doktoratsprogramm Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies (ICS) statt.