Instruments of American Excellence

In this one-hour talk, WKU alum and folklorist Dr. Andrea Kitta will discuss the difference between disinformation and misinformation, how rumor, legend, and conspiracy theories affect our medical decision making, and how to talk to people about all of these considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hosted by the Kentucky Folklife Program and Kentucky Museum, this program is sponsored by the Association of Science and Technology Centers’ Communities for Immunity program.

About our Guest Speaker

Dr. Andrea Kitta is a folklorist with a specialty in medicine, belief, and the supernatural. She is also interested in Internet folklore, narrative, and contemporary (urban) legend. Her first book, Vaccinations and Public Concern in History: Legend, Rumor, and Risk Perception, won the Brian McConnell Book Award in 2012. Her most recent book, The Kiss of Death: Contagion, Contamination, and Folklore won the Chicago Folklore Prize and Brian McConnell Book Award in 2020. Dr. Kitta received a Teacher/Scholar award from East Carolina University (2015-16) and the Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award (2018-2019). She is a graduate of WKU’s Master’s in Folk Studies program and received her PhD at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Registration

September 30^th, 2021, at 4 p.m. Central

Free and Open to the Public

Register in advance for this meeting: https://wku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcsduutrDwiE9I4U08DSQ3avCpZgrpUup0L

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Registration is limited to 300 participants and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.