lecture

The creator of “The Body Farm” in Knoxville, Dr. Bill Bass, will speak at Volunteer State Community College on Tuesday, October 23 at 10 a.m. in a public lecture. The forensic anthropologist is best known for his work in founding the Anthropology Research Facility at U-T Knoxville. Researchers there study the decomposition of donated bodies in various weather and burial conditions. The findings, including methods to help determine when a person died, revolutionized forensic science and criminal investigation.

Jennifer Weedman is fascinated by the history of grave robbing. She will tell you that one of the most notorious body snatchers in America was born in Gallatin. She has collected the stories of resurrectionists, and “sack-‘em-up” men (and women), who secretly sold bodies to medical schools back in the days before dissection was legal in this country. Weedman is a retired school librarian and lifelong history buff. She is working on a book about the subject.