Priscilla Wald Discusses Science, Pandemics and Popular Culture in Online "Office Hours"

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.

Earlier this year, she wrote an op-ed about how heightened media coverage during disease outbreaks should be used to raise awareness of the social causes and consequences of pandemics.