Skip to Content
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • flickr
  • WAGNER.EDU
  • A-Z
    A
    • Academic Advising & Accessibility
    • Academic and Cultural Enrichment
    • Admissions
    • Alumni & Friends
    • Anthropology Department
    • Arts Administration
    • Athletics
    B
    • Biological Sciences Department
    • Bookstore
    • Business, Nicolais School
    • Business Office
    C
    • Calendar
    • Campus Life
    • Campus Services
    • Career Planning & Development
    • Center for Intercultural Advancement
    • Center for Leadership & Community Engagement
    • Center for Spirituality
    • Children & Teens Programs
    • Commencement
    • Communications & Marketing
    • Conference Services
    • Continuing Education
    D
    • Dance Program
    • Dining Services
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    E
    • Early Childhood Center
    • Economics Department
    • Education Department
    • English Department
    • Expanding Your Horizons
    F
    • Film & Media
    • Film & Photo Shoots
    • Financial Aid
    G
    • Gender Studies
    • Government & Politics Department
    • Give to Wagner
    H
    • HawkTalk Blog
    • Health & Wellness
    • History Department
    • Holocaust Center
    • Honors Program
    • Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform
    • Human Resources
    I
    • Information Technology
    • Institutional Advancement
    L
    • Library
    • Lifelong Learning Department
    M
    • Math & Computer Science
    • Modern Languages, Literatures & Cultures
    • Music Department
    N
    • Newsroom
    • New Students Hub
    • Nursing, Evelyn L. Spiro School
    P
    • Performing Arts
    • Philosophy & Religious Studies Department
    • Physical Sciences Department
    • Physician Assistant
    • Planetarium
    • Pre-Health Science Program
    • Pre-Law Program
    • President’s Office
    • Provost’s Office
    • Psychology Department
    • Public Safety
    R
    • Registrar
    • Residential Education
    S
    • Sociology Department
    • Student Engagement and Activities
    • Student Government Association
    • Study Abroad
    T
    • Theatre
    • Theatre Season
    • Title IX
    V
    • Veteran’s Resources
    • Visual Arts Department
    W
    • Wagner Fund
    • Wagner Magazine
    • WCBG Student Radio
    • Writing Center
  • QuickLinks
    ONLINE
    • Directory
    • Follett Discover Access
    • Handshake
    • Mailport
    • Moodle
    • myWagner
    • OneLogin
    ON CAMPUS
    • Events Calendar
    • Job Opportunities
    • Library
    • Registrar’s Office
    • Theatre Season
    • Visit Us
    • Webcam
    MORE RESOURCES
    • For Employees
    • For Faculty
    • For Current Students
    • For New Students
    • For Community
    • For Alumni
    • For Parents
Wagner College Newsroom
  • Events
  • Stories
  • Contact
  • Newsroom MENU
    • WAGNER.EDU
    - Prev Article Prof. Dietrich’s new book examines impact of pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico - Next Article
    June 7, 2013 Share
    Share on facebook
    Facebook
    Share on twitter
    Twitter
    Share on google
    Google
    Share on linkedin
    Linkedin
    Share on pinterest
    Pinterest
    Share on email
    Email
    Text Size

    Alexa DietrichWagner College anthropology professor Alexa S. Dietrich's first book, “The Drug Company Next Door: Pollution, Jobs, and Community Health in Puerto Rico,” was released today by NYU Press.

    The production of pharmaceuticals is among the most profitable industries on the planet. Drug companies produce chemical substances that can save, extend, or substantially improve the quality of human life. However, even as the companies present themselves publicly as health and environmental stewards, their factories are a significant source of air and water pollution — toxic to people and the environment. In Puerto Rico, the pharmaceutical industry is the backbone of the island’s economy; in one small town alone, there are over a dozen drug factories representing five multinationals, the highest concentration per capita of such factories in the world. It is a place where the enforcement of environmental regulations and the public trust they ensure are often violated in the name of economic development.

    “The Drug Company Next Door” unites the concerns of critical medical anthropology with those of political ecology, investigating the multi-faceted role of pharmaceutical corporations as polluters, economic providers, and social actors. Rather than simply demonizing the drug companies, Dietrich explores the dynamics involved in their interactions with the local community and discusses the strategies used by both individuals and community groups to deal with the consequences of pollution.“The Drug Company Next Door” puts a human face on a growing set of problems for communities around the world. Accessible and engaging, the book encourages readers to think critically about the role of corporations in everyday life, health and culture.

    Alexa S. Dietrich joined the anthropology faculty at Wagner College in 2007, where she is an assistant professor. She earned her A.B. from Barnard College and her MPH and Ph.D. from Emory University.


    Alexa Dietrich book coverREVIEWS

    Merrill Singer, University of Connecticut — This fascinating and most timely critical medical anthropology study successfully binds two still emergent areas of contemporary anthropological research in the global world: the nature and significant impact of multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers on human social life everywhere, and the contribution of corporations to the fast-paced degradation of our life support system, planet Earth. . . . Focusing on a pharmaceutically-impacted town on the colonized island of Puerto Rico, Dietrich ably demonstrates the value of ethnography carried out in small places in framing the large issues facing humanity.

    Lesley A. Sharp, Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Anthropology, Barnard College — Offers a compelling and thought-provoking account of the politics of recognition in Nocorá Puerto Rico, a municipality where the stench of pollution pervades the air, soil, and water. In Nocorá one lives beneath the shadow of one's corporate `neighbors,’ an imposing complex of pharmaceutical companies that turns a blind eye to the insidious effects of toxic by-products while boasting of their lucrative trade in health elsewhere. Set against the invisibility of chronic suffering, local grassroots activists must always fight to be seen and heard. Here one encounters a lively cast of people who inhabit an environment both tranquil and contaminated. This is a smart and masterful portrayal of the realities of activism and the power of corporate public relations strategies, a convincing ethnography that integrates medical anthropology and political ecology in expert fashion. Every employee of Big Pharma should be required to read this book.

    IN THIS STORY

     

    Alexa Dietrich

    Research Associate Professor, Department of Culture and Economy
    View Full Profile
     
     
      • Anthropology Department News
      • Homepage Feature
      • Wagner News

    Popular Stories

    • MG 1129 1 Michelle Siemens MG 1129 1 Michelle Siemens

      Magic and mayhem: Wagner College Theatre opens the season October 5 with ‘Pippin’

      September 28, 2023

    • DSC00293 DSC00293

      ‘We need you desperately,’ NYC Schools Chancellor David C. Banks tells educators at Wagner College Teacher Resiliency Forum

      September 29, 2023

    • Jeffrey Forchelli e1695133310720 Jeffrey Forchelli e1695133310720

      Presidential Search Announcement from the Board Chair

      September 19, 2023
     

    Related Stories

    DSC00293Hidden Image September 29, 2023 ‘We need you desperately,’ NYC Schools Chancellor David C. Banks tells educators at Wagner College Teacher Resiliency Forum By Andrew Housman Delivering an impassioned keynote speech and earning a standing ovation at the Wagner College Teacher Resiliency Panel Forum on Thursday, New York City Schools Chancellor David C. Banks
    Four actors on stage as part of a Wagner Theatre production.Hidden Image September 28, 2023 Magic and mayhem: Wagner College Theatre opens the season October 5 with 'Pippin' Wagner College Theater (WCT) has "magic to do" this season, starting with the whimsical and delightfully dark Broadway classic, "Pippin". Directed and choreographed by WCT professor and head of dance
    wide-angle photo of a lecture hall crowded with students as a person presents at a podium.Hidden Image September 22, 2023 Future-of-work strategist to deliver 2023 Kaufman-Repage Lecture The Wagner College community is invited to the 2023 Kaufman-Repage lecture with future-of-work strategist Heather E. McGowan on October 25 at 7 p.m. in Spiro Hall 2, titled "Do Not Fear ChatGPT: The Future
    Two students sit at a table flipping through archives at the New York Public Library.Hidden Image September 21, 2023 A field trip to the city with a Wagner first-year Learning Community By Morgan Aguilar The Wagner way of learning just hits differently. This month, students from "LC 9," one of the Fall 2023 First-Year Program Learning Communities, visited the New York Public Library's
    Group of six student staff members wearing matching blue shirts and nametags pose for photo around an empty green cart during move-in at Wagner College.Hidden Image September 20, 2023 Now hiring Wagner students: Browse on-campus jobs and off-campus community service opportunities The Office of Financial Aid has many openings for Wagner students looking for an on-campus job or an off-campus community service opportunity. From an events staff position with athletics to an office
    Jeffrey Forchelli e1695133310720Hidden Image September 19, 2023 Presidential Search Announcement from the Board Chair Wagner College: As you read yesterday, President Angelo Araimo has announced that after 30 years of distinguished service, he will retire from Wagner next summer. The Board of Trustees joins the faculty,
    angelo 2022 commencement 1Hidden Image September 18, 2023 President Angelo Araimo to retire following 2023-24 academic year Wagner College President Angelo Araimo Longtime leader to conclude 30-year tenure, calls Wagner College “strong and poised to thrive” Angelo Araimo, president of Wagner College, announced his retirement
    211220 Wagner Shot 01 0242 2Hidden Image September 18, 2023 A Message from President Angelo Araimo Wagner College: January 2024 will mark my 30th anniversary at Wagner College.  When I arrived in 1994 as director of admissions, it never occurred to me that I would be here more than a few years. I
    Hidden Image September 16, 2023 Seahawk Spotlight: Preserving Wagner archives, a pilot dance program in Brooklyn, and more By Lindsey Schwarzbach Seahawk Spotlight is a monthly roundup covering campus happenings and student, faculty and staff accolades for Wagner College. Below are highlights from September 2023. Wagner
     
    • Wagner Magazine

      Stories from alumni around the world.

      Read the magazine

    • Contact the newsroom

      communications@wagner.edu

    • Wagner in the media

      Wagner College news coverage

      Browse Catalog

    • Visit Campus
    • Explore Majors
    • Library
    • Make a Gift
    Wagner College
    Work One Campus Road
    Staten Island, NY 10301
    • CONTACT US
    • Privacy Policy
    Back top