UPDATE 4/4/2024: This presentation will now be conducted via Zoom. Please join us over Zoom.
UPDATE 4/2/2024: Unfortunately, due to impending storms, the presentation by Mary Beth Oliver has been canceled.
The Institute of Communications Research will present a Distinguished Speaker Series this spring, showcasing some of the most renowned scholars in the fields of communication and media studies.
"Media-Induced Self-Transcendence: Evidence and New Directions"
Over the last decade we have seen an emergence of scholarship that recognizes that media may serve to inspire us in ways that transcend our egoistic concerns and to cause us to recognize our interconnectedness. Rather than serving the purpose of pleasant entertainment, uplifting media can motivate us toward greater social good and elevate the importance of compassion, beauty, and empathy. This talk will overview this body of literature, providing both evidence for the self-transcendent role of media and circumstances where these types of outcomes fail to materialize. Implications of our shifting media landscapes will also be discussed.
Presented by Mary Beth Oliver, Donald P. Bellisario Professor of Media Studies in the Department of Film/Video & Media Studies at Penn State.
This talk is co-sponsored by the Department of Communication.
