Oct. 20, 2008 -Professor John D. Peters, a renowned media historian and social theorist, will present the communication department’s 22nd annual B. Aubrey Fisher Memorial Lecture, titled Old Media, New Media on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 1110 of the Language and Communication Building (LNCO). The event is free and open to the public.
Peters is the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa. His address, “Old Media, New Media,” will traverse the social, political, economic, cultural and human consequences of the new media by exploring media history.
On Friday, Oct. 24, he will also conduct an informal seminar on the topic, “The Challenge of Recent German Media Theory,” open to the public in LNCO 2120 at 10 a.m.
“We couldn’t ask for a better expert on the topic of new and old media,” says Ann Darling, chair and associate professor of communication. “His vast knowledge of the media within the context of cultural history makes this year’s lecture a rare and exciting one. We are lucky to have such an internationally recognized scholar join us.”
Peters has held fellowships with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. He grew up in Brookline, Mass. and graduated with a B.A. in English and a M.A. in speech communication from the University of Utah. He received a Ph.D. in communication theory and research from Stanford University in 1986 before accepting a faculty appointment at University of Iowa.
The B. Aubrey Fisher Memorial Lecture was established by the department of communication in 1986 to recognize Fisher’s outstanding achievements as a communication scholar and to provide a forum for presenting original research and theory in communication.