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clashing with science

RDC speakers’ series to challenge “celebrity effect” on information

Dec 9, 2019 | 12:04 PM

Red Deer College says the next installment of its Perspectives: Canada in the World speakers’ series will challenge the myths, assumptions and pop culture influences on how we consume information.

On Tuesday, March 24, Professor Timothy Caulfield will lead session where he will challenge the celebrity-dominated worldview that has a profound influence on people’s ideas about health, beauty and success. Caulfield will also debunk common health myths and provide practical, evidence-based recommendations for audience members.

“In a fast-paced society where access to information is immediate and abundant, Red Deer College invites guests to pause and consider what they are reading, hearing and learning,” the college says in a release.

Caulfield is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, a professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and a Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. His academic research focuses on topics including stem cells, genetics, research ethics, and the public representations of science and health policy issues.

Caulfield is the author of two national best-selling books: The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness and Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash. In 2017, he published his most recent book The Vaccination Picture.

He is also the host and co-producer of the award-winning documentary television show, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, which has been shown in over 60 countries and is currently streaming on Netflix.

To purchase tickets for the March 24 event at the RDC Arts Centre (7 p.m.), or for more information, visit rdc.ab.ca/perspectives.