Summer 2012 Archives
Adventures in Ideas (click the title for description)
Contagions Past and Present
June 1-2, 2012
Turkey at the Crossroads
June 9, 2012
Faith and Power in the Mediterranean
A Distinguished Scholar Seminar Featuring John J. Martin
June 22-23, 2012
A Dickens Bicentennial
June 30, 2012
History and Ideologies: The Rise and Fall of the Western “-Isms”
Part II: The Development of Social, Economic, and Cultural “-Isms”
A Distinguished Scholar Seminar Featuring Lloyd S. Kramer
July 13-14, 2012
Humanities in Action (click the title for description)
May 30, 2012
Race and Immigration Issues in the 2012 Elections
Andrea Benjamin, Assistant Professor of Political Science
TIME: 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
June 13, 2012
War, Terrorism, and National Security in the 2012 Elections
David Schanzer, Associate Professor of the Practice, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University and Adjunct Associate Professor in UNC’s Peace, War and Defense Curriculum
TIME: 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
June 27, 2012
Civility, Incivility, and Public Opinion in the 2012 Elections
Andrew Perrin, Associate Professor of Sociology
TIME: 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
July 11, 2012
Gender and Sexuality Issues in the 2012 Elections
Pamela Conover, Burton Craige Distinguished Professor of Political Science
TIME: 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
July 25, 2012
Networked Politics from Howard Dean to Barack Obama and the 2012 Elections
Daniel Kreiss, Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
TIME: 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Descriptions of Summer 2012 Programs
Contagions Past and Present
June 1-2, 2012
Humans live at the mercy of disease. As social animals, we share living space, food, water, and air. We live at risk of transmitting pathogens and igniting catastrophic contagions. How we respond to disease often reflects broader social and cultural issues lingering beneath our healthy lives. This seminar explores the causes, cures, and social and cultural implications of contagions in several settings. Hunter Gardner will discuss Roman writers whose portrayals of plague spoke to their understanding of the lifecycles of humans and societies. Jehangir Malegam will cover Medieval European plagues and explain why they were such watershed events in Europe’s development. David Weber will apply his medical expertise to consider how accurately films portray disease. Daniel Halperin will analyze the role of Western nations in the transmission of HIV/AIDS in Africa and throughout the world. In the panel session, we will challenge our speakers to apply the lessons of the past to contend with the threat of contagions today.
Topics and Speakers
Representing Plague in Roman Literature
Hunter Gardner, Assistant Professor of Classics, University of South Carolina at Columbia
Medieval Plagues
Jehangir Malegam, Assistant Professor of History, Duke University
Infectious Diseases in the Movies: Fact or Fiction?
David Jay Weber, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health
Tinderbox: The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Africa and Beyond
Daniel Halperin, Adjunct Associate Professor of Health Education and Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health
Contagions: Fact, Fiction; Past, Present
A panel discussion with our speakers