Scholars and medical professionals from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present a series of lectures in February and early March focusing on pandemics old and new.
The 2021 Winter Lecture Series will take place each Sunday from Feb. 14 through March 7, streamed live on Zoom beginning at 7 p.m. and recorded for later viewing. The 45-minute lectures will be followed by questions from the audience.
The lectures are free and open to the public. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link, which will enable participation in all four lectures. Register here.
The schedule:
Feb. 14: Carol Symes, associate professor and associate chair of history and director of graduate studies at Illinois, will discuss “Historical Perspectives of Pandemics.” Past and recent waves of disease have influenced the cultures of the world, from the Antonine plague that decimated the Roman army, through the bubonic plague that reshaped Europe and the world in the 14th century, to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Feb. 21: Dr. Ali S. Khan, dean of the College of Public Health and professor of epidemiology at UNMC, will discuss “Threats to Global Health and the Role of the World Health Organization.” Current news coverage focuses on local and national issues, but pandemics affect the world. The WHO monitors and coordinates responses to disease outbreaks that threaten to become deadly pandemics.
Feb. 28: Peter C. Angeletti, associate professor in the Nebraska Center for Virology in the School of Biological Sciences, will present “Zoonosis of SARS-CoV,” explaining the origins of the virus and its transmission. Cultural practices from the “wet markets” of East Asia and “bush meat” in Africa facilitate the transmission of dangerous pathogens from animals to humans.
March 7: Dr. Sharon R. Stoolman, who specializes in pediatrics in UNMC’s Division of Hospital Medicine and practices as a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, will discuss “Sorting Through Racial Disparities in COVID-19,” emphasizing how the current pandemic affects minority communities locally and throughout the U.S.
The Winter Lecture Series is supported by the Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee, Humanities Nebraska and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Nebraska.
