This week, we will have a co-hosted Global WASH and EWC seminar in a special date/time and room. We will meet on this Wednesday, Apr 11, and be joined by Dr. Dean Spears from UT Austin. He will discuss: “Where India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development, and the Costs of Caste.” An abstract is included below. Please join us in Riddick 451 on Wednesday from 3-4pm.

Abstract: Dr. Spears discusses his recently published book, Where India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development, and the Costs of Caste. Co-Authored with Dr. Diane Coffey, the book demonstrates that open defecation in India is not the result of poverty but a direct consequence of the caste system. Dr. Spears is an economic demographer and development economist. His research areas include the health, growth, and survival of children, especially in India; the environment, air pollution, and climate change and population dimensions of social well-being.