Popular culture and health in focus at Rice’s Baker Institute March 19

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327

Jeff Falk
jfalk@rice.edu
713-348-6775

Popular culture and health in focus at Rice’s Baker Institute March 19

HOUSTON – (March 12, 2015) – International health policy scholar Timothy Caulfield  will discuss the influence of popular culture on beliefs about health, well-being and science at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy March 19. Caulfied is author of “The Cure for Everything” and the forthcoming “Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: How the Famous Sell Us Elixirs of Health, Beauty and Happiness.”

Hosted by the institute’s Science and Technology Policy Program and Health Policy Forum, the event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Who: Timothy Caulfield, the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy and professor in the Faculty of Law and School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.

What: Presentation on “When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash: The Twisting of Research and Health Policy.”

When: 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19. A reception will follow Caulfield’s presentation.

Where: Rice University, James A. Baker III Hall, Doré Commons, 6100 Main St.

Society’s perceptions of beauty, health, success and happiness are framed by a popular culture that is increasingly disconnected from reality, according to Caulfield. Research shows that celebrity endorsements overwhelmingly influence people’s health decisions and goals, that children’s ambitions are shaped by fantasies of fame and that people’s ideals of beauty and success are framed by a celebrity-dominated worldview. The celebrity brand is at once the most desired state of being and one of the most socially problematic, he said. In his presentation, Caulfield will discuss what this emerging evidence says about the influence of popular culture on beliefs about health, well-being and science.

The public must register to attend this event at http://bakerinstitute.org/events/register/1691/?submit=RSVP.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps. Media are advised to park in the Central Campus Garage.

Members of the news media who want to attend must RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top 10 university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.