Few would disagree that 2020 was a chaotic, confusing year. The next Perspectives series, “Reestablishing Reality,” will help participants understand what has happened and reorient them to the realities of 2021.

“Reestablishing Reality” presenters will give their perspectives on motivated reasoning, racial narratives, propaganda and stereotypes, one’s proclivity to share fake news, and science and bias. Dr. Andrew Hippisley, dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will host the series.

Each presentation will be delivered at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays from April 7 to May 5 via Zoom, and will be open to the public. 

• April 7,  "Motivated to ignore the facts: the difficulty of evidence, argument and rationality in reestablishing reality," by Jeffrey Jarman, Kansas Health Foundation Distinguished Director of the Elliott School of Communication
• April 14, “Assets and Deficits: Establishing an African American Narrative,” by Mark McCormick, director of strategic communications for the ACLU of Kansas
• April 21,  "The Big Lie: Nazi Propaganda, Antisemitism, and the Coming of the Third Reich," by Jeff Hayton, associate professor of history
• April 28, "Who shares misinformation online?" by Mythili Menon, assistant professor of English and linguistics
• May 5,  "Science and Bias," Susan G. Sterrett, Curtis D. Gridley Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science

For more information: Contact Andrew Hippisley, dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, at 316-978-6659 or andrew.hippisley@wichita.edu

The Zoom meeting information will be the same for each presentation. Meeting ID: 926 2924 7558, Passcode: 544818.