Friday, October 03, 2003

WILMINGTON, NC- Author and NPR commentator Douglas Rushkoff will speak on the topic “Scared Stupid: Why America Resists Media Literacy,” 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27 at Kenan Auditorium, located on the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s campus. A question and answer session and book signing will follow the lecture.

Rushkoff is a professor of Media Culture at New York University. In his lectures, Rushkoff challenges the popular opinion that our perceptions are controlled by big business, big media and big government. Instead, he looks to ways that people can participate in the creation of culture and explore how communications affect values and lives.

Rushkoff has written several books including Media Virus, Ecstasy Club and the online novel Exit Strategy. The Media Ecology Association, which focuses on how communication affects human perception, understanding, feeling and value, awarded his book Coercion: Why We Listen to What “They” Say the 2002 MEA Outstanding Book in the Field of Media Ecology. He reaches millions each week with his commentaries on NPR’s All Things Considered, his syndicated column and his popular ‘blogs’ on www.rushkoff.com.

His PBS Frontline documentary, “The Merchants of Cool,” examined corporate America’s marketing efforts to capture the quality that drives the annual $100 billion spending power of America’s teenagers. UNCW Student Media will screen “The Merchants of Cool,” 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 22 in Bryan Auditorium, Morton Hall, Room 100. Dr. Randy Bobbitt of the Department of Communication Studies will moderate a panel discussion following the screening.



Rushkoff’s lecture is part of Campus Activities and Involvement Center’s Leadership Lecture Series, a program designed to expose students to speakers who enlighten, challenge, inspire and demonstrate that all people have the ability to lead if they have the desire to make a difference. For more information about the lecture series, visit www.uncw.edu/arts.

BOX OFFICE AND TICKET INFORMATION

All lectures are scheduled for UNCW’s Kenan Auditorium. Tickets are free for UNCW students, faculty and staff, and $6 for the general public. To reserve tickets or for additional information about the Leadership Lecture Series, call the Kenan Auditorium box office at 910/962-3500, or 800/732-3643 outside of the Wilmington area. Ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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Media Contact: Shannon Hooker, Campus Activities and Involvement Center assistant director, 910/962-7600 or hookers@uncw.edu.