DURHAM, N.C. -- The way the mainstream media tells the stories of communicable disease outbreaks, such as the H1N1 virus, will be among the topics discussed during a live webcast with Duke English professor Priscilla Wald. This latest installment of Duke’s new online "office hours” series will run live on Duke’s Ustream channel beginning at noon EDT Friday, Sept. 25.

Viewers can submit questions in advance or during the session by email to live@duke.edu, on the Duke University Live Ustream page on Facebook or via Twitter with the tag #dukelive.

Wald is the author of the book Contagious (Duke University Press, 2008), which looks at the appeal of the media’s formulaic “outbreak” narrative. She specializes in seeing how science, specifically genetics, is represented in popular culture, such as movies like X-Men, and sci fi books like Darwin’s Radio. She also has studied the representation of disease and contagion (including typhoid, SARS and AIDS) and its interaction with culture. She was co-convener of the 2006-07 FHI Annual Seminar Interface and a faculty fellow in the 2001-02 Seminar Historicizing Identities.

To see original web article from Duke's Office of News and Communications and for more information, click here.

Tags: online office hours, popular culture, science studies

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