UK Happenings

Expert to Give Media and Diversity Presentation at UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 17, 2016) Well-known professor and author Naeemah Clark will give a talk titled “Does the Media Tell Us Who We Are?” followed by a discussion at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in Gatton College of Business and Economics' Kincaid Auditorium.

The event, hosted by the UK College of Communication and Information, is free and open to the public.  

Clark’s presentation will be similar to a talk she gave at a TED Talk Conference held in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2015. Her talk will focus on what a powerful effect the media’s presentation of diversity seems to have on how we perceive ourselves, as well as how we view the world around us.

“I’ve long been interested in this topic because I grew up watching television and thinking that I wanted to be more like those idyllic figures on the screen," said Clark, a woman of color herself. "Of course, now I know that's not reality nor is television an accurate depiction of who real people actually are — especially when it comes to people of color.”

In addition to having presented on the topic of diversity in the media at a TED Talk Conference last year, Clark, an associate professor of communication at Elon University, has also co-authored and edited books, published journal articles and presented research related to race and gender, economic status, disabilities, LGBTQIA and ethnicity in the media. She also studies and teaches about economic, programming and diversity issues in the media and entertainment industries.

“Does The Media Tell Us Who We Are?” will be a unique presentation as Clark will be tying in a wide variety of media examples to emphasize her points regarding media and diversity. Many of these examples will be extremely timely and relevant to current media trends.

“This doesn’t have to be your area of research,” said Instructional Communication and Research Lecturer Allyson DeVito, the coordinator of the presentation, who explained how relevant this talk is to today’s media and anyone who engages in it. “Most of us watch things on TV or on Amazon or on Netflix, so we might not even realize some of the things that TV is telling us or teaching us, and [Clark] does a really good job of bringing that out.”

A discussion on the topic, led by Clark along with UK students and faculty members, will be held immediately following the talk. 

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MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Harder, 859-323-2396, whitney.harder@uky.edu