Dr. Susan B. Hyatt, chair and professor of anthropology at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts, will share “‘Water is Life, Meters Out!’ Revisiting the Lower Grange Campaign for Water Justice,” during Bluffton University’s forum on Tuesday, March 13. The lecture begins at 11 a.m. in Bluffton’s Yoder Recital Hall. 

Hyatt will discuss how over the past four decades an emphasis on the value of the “free market” has led to the privatization of a number of services and amenities all over the world. She believes no development has been more alarming in its implications than the privatization of water and sewage systems.

During Forum, Hyatt will explore a case study of how women from a marginalized public housing community fought a remarkable campaign against water privatization in England in the 1990s. 

Hyatt will discuss the lessons learned from that fight and explore how such privatizations place particular burdens on poor women, who remain the primary guardians responsible for the well-being of their families and households.

The presentation is free and open to the public.