North Central alumna, English graduate is guest lecturer May 6

North Central College alumna Rachel Louise Snyder ’92 will give a talk on ethical issues in the “post-sweatshop” world at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 6, in Meiley-Swallow Hall. The free event is part of the College’s yearlong focus on global human rights.

In her lecture, titled “The Post-Sweatshop World: Ethical Issues and Emerging Trends,” Snyder explores global manufacturing, boycotts, ethical guidelines and the nature of the post-sweatshop world. These issues also are raised in her 2009 book, “Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade,” which describes the global textile trade, from a cotton picker in Azerbaijan to a Cambodian seamstress and a denim maker in Italy to a fashion designer in New York.

She is an assistant professor in the department of literature at American University in Washington, D.C., an author and investigative journalist with a global focus. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including the New York Times magazine, Slate and the New Republic. She also has produced radio pieces that have appeared on NPR programs, including “This American Life” and “All Things Considered.”

Snyder graduated from North Central with a major in English studies and minor in history in 1992 and went on to earn a master of fine arts in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston. A Washington, D.C., resident, she has also lived in London and Cambodia.

To learn more about Snyder, visit her website at globalgrit.com.