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*Please note: The March 19 and April 16 events have been postponed until Fall 2020.*

The communication department is holding its first Controversies in Communication lecture series on Feb. 27, March 19 and April 16, aimed at older adults and focusing on a variety of topics that will be presented by communication faculty members and students.

On Feb. 27, Alisha Menzies, assistant professor of communication, will give a lecture titled, We Are What They Say. The lecture focuses on how popular culture shapes the way we judge what celebrities and public figures say, compared with what the average, private person says. Menzies will use historic and contemporary speech event examples to explore the topic. This talk will take place in the Crescent Club on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center from 7-8:30 p.m.

On March 19, Paul Hillier, associate professor of communication and reality TV scholar, will present a talk titled Centuries of Selfies from 7-8:30 p.m. The talk will discuss the modern selfie, which is often viewed as another narcissistic indulgence of Gen Z. Hillier will explore the history of a long-standing cultural practice and the moral panics around photography that date back to the invention of cameras. The talk will be in the Board of Trustees room on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center.

On April 16, Landon Palmer, professor of instruction I, communication, and the author of the upcoming book Rock Star/Movie Star: Power and Performance in Cinematic Rock Stardom, will analyze why media industries rely on celebrities to both sing and act. The lecture will take place in Room 219 in the Vaughn Center from 7-8:30 p.m.

Each lecture will last an hour, followed by refreshments and conversation. The Communication, Media and Culture Program is co-sponsoring the series with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of South Florida (OLLI-USF). The series is free and open to UT students, faculty and staff. Tickets are $10 for OLLI-USF members.