Visiting Artist Lecture: Julia Petruska

Visiting Artist Lecture: Julia Petruska
Wednesday, November 18, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Civic Square Building, Room 110

Bio
Her research focuses on the production and circulation of knowledge in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century United States. She has specific interests in forecasting and ideas about the future, risk and catastrophe, and data practices. Her first book, Looking Forward: Prediction and Uncertainty in Modern America (University of Chicago Press, 2017), tells the story of how late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Americans came to believe in the promise and accept the limitations of predicting the future of the weather, the harvest, the market, and everyday life. She is currently working on two book projects: “Weather Capitalism: Gambling on the Weather from Rainfall Lotteries to Wildfire Markets” and “Data Driven: Information and Investigation in the Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century United States.”

This lecture is presented as part of the Fall 2026 Visiting Artist Lecture Series, free and open to all.

ASL/CART available on request. Contact Cassandra at 848-932-5399 / coliveras@mgsa.rutgers.edu one week prior to event.
Masks strongly encouraged
Wheelchair accessible with ramps and elevators
Quiet room available