February 9, 2009

Annenberg Research Seminar: Andrew Lakoff, UCSD
Geoffrey Cowan Forum (Annenberg Room 207), 12 noon
Join students and faculty for a presentation by Andrew Lakoff, associate professor of sociology at the University of California at San Diego and visiting associate professor at Harvard University. His topic: “The generic biothreat, or, how we became unprepared.” From Dr. Lakoff: “This talk describes the recent intersection of national security and public health in the United States. It argues that over the last three decades, a new way of thinking about and acting on the threat of infectious disease has coalesced: for public health and national security officials, the problem of infectious disease is no longer only one of prevention, but also - and perhaps even more - one of preparedness. The talk will describe the historical process through which a norm of preparedness has come to structure expert reflection about threats to public health, and how a certain set of responses to these threats became possible.” Lunch will be served.



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