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Disinformation Panel Discussion - Human Science Institute - Psychology Museum

Blog Date
Author(s)
Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
History
Science
Akron
Museums
Psychology

Disinformation Panel Discussion - Human Science Institute - Psychology Museum
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When Stuart saw the announcement on social media for the Institute for Human Science and Culture's Misinformation Society panel discussion on October 2, 2024, he knew that it was important to attend. The topic is of immediate importance as we are in an election cycle that has included a historic level of misinformation and disinformation.

Originally, Stuart planned to watch the YouTube livestream of the event. After Stuart wrote about his tour of the National Museum of Psychology on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, Julie also became interested in seeing the museum.

This blog post is about the two of us attending the October 2, 2024, panel of University of Akron professors discussing misinformation/disinformation, and then touring two sections of the Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology.

The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology, located at The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, collects, preserves, provides access to, and interprets the historical record of psychology and related human sciences. . . .

The Center houses the Archives of the History of American Psychology and the National Museum of Psychology, as well as the multidisciplinary Institute for Human Science and Culture.

 

 

Panel Discussion: Misinformation Society

Stuart's October 2, 2024, photos of the Misinformation Society panel discussion at the University of Akron.
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In recent years, the United States has hit a crisis point in terms of misinformation and disinformation. Rumors and falsehoods have become inescapable online, fueling division, protests, and public policy debates. Join us for a free panel discussion on the science and history of disinformation, with University of Akron faculty from the fields of Bibliography, History, Psychology, and Science Education. The panel will discuss how misinformation and disinformation proliferate in our society, what motivates the spread, and what we can do to combat falsehoods in our classrooms and communities.

. . .

This event is part of the Cummings Center’s Brown Bag History series, which invites guests to drop in, bring a meal, and enjoy a lunchtime conversation about history and culture. All Brown Bag History events are free to attend and include free admission to the National Museum of Psychology and Institute galleries.

About the Panelists
Dr. Cathy Faye is the executive director of the Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology at The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. She holds a PhD in psychology from York University in Toronto, Canada, where she specialized in the history of psychology. She is the past president of APA’s Society for the History of Psychology and the 2018 recipient of the society’s Early Career Award.

Dr. Gary M. Holliday (he/they) is Professor of Science Education and Director of the LeBron James Family Foundation School of Education at The University of Akron. His research has focused on informal learning environments which extends the teaching and learning of science beyond the formal classroom in settings such as museums, aquaria, zoos, environmental centers, and other community resources. In essence, they can communicate knowledge about science and are forms of science outreach. Further, he is interested in science communication by scientists themselves and how their research can be communicated (or miscommunicated) to the general public in a variety of ways.

Dr. Melanie McGurr is Professor and Associate Dean of Technical Services at the University Libraries, University of Akron. She previously worked as Interim Chief Medical Librarian and Assistant Director of Content Strategies at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, Coordinator of Authority Control and Database Maintenance at the Ohio State University, and Coordinator of Technical Services at Urbana University. Melanie received both her M.L.I.S. and Ph.D. in English Literature from Kent State University. She also has an M.A in English from Slippery Rock University and a B.A. in English and History from Washington and Jefferson College.

Dr. Gregory Wilson is a distinguished professor of history. He is the author of four books and numerous articles, reviews, and other publications. He specializes in recent United States history and Ohio history, with interests in environmental history, politics, labor, and oral history. He is also an accomplished public historian, who has received several grants and awards for his work on various projects.

Education and Outreach Coordinator Tony Pankuch, MLIS, acted as moderator for the panel and did an excellent job of bringing up interesting topic points.

Please watch this video and think about what we can do to not be influenced by disinformation. We also think that it is very important to consider how all of us can work together to help others not be affected by disinformation.

 

 

Book: Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Attack from Within is an urgent, comprehensive explanation of the ways disinformation impacts democracy, and practical solutions that can be pursued to strengthen the public, media, and truth-based politics.

. . .

In Attack from Within, legal scholar and analyst Barbara McQuade, shows us how to identify the ways disinformation is seeping into all facets of our society and how we can fight against it.

When you listen to the "Misinformation Society" panel discussion, you will hear the University of Akron's Professor and Associate Dean of Technical Services at the University Libraries, Dr. Melanie McGurr, talk about Barbara McQuade's book, Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America. (Hear Dr. McGurr talk about the book on the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology's YouTube video at the time 3:43 here: https://youtu.be/CkJwv8zE0MU?feature=shared&t=223 - this link will open in a new browser window.)

 

If you are interested, we saw while preparing this blog post that the book, ebook, and audiobook are available for FREE with your library card at:

 

 

Touring the Institute for Human Science and Culture and the National Museum of Psychology

The Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC) is a hands-on humanities center on the corner of campus and community.

The mission of the IHSC is to promote the exploration and appreciation of the widespread human experience, both local and global, through the activation of museum collections. The IHSC enriches The University of Akron student experience with arts and culture activities, speakers, exhibitions, and programs, facilitating engagement and connections among UA departments to discover new and creative ways to nurture learning. We connect UA and Akron communities to learn from each other through arts and culture, expertise and experience, and hands-on teaching and learning.

In addition to collections storage facilities and classrooms, the IHSC is home to the Oak Native American Gallery (currently closed for research) and Lynn Rodeman Metzger Galleries, as well as a library containing the David P. Campbell Postcard Collection, open to the public.

What makes us human? The National Museum of Psychology invites visitors to explore the history of our attempts to understand the human experience. Highlights include interactive exhibits on memory, intelligence, and personality; home movies of Sigmund Freud; a Nobel Prize; the simulated shock generator from Stanley Milgram's obedience studies, and; artifacts from the Stanford Prison Experiment.

The Museum features permanent and rotating exhibits on the history of psychology as a profession, a science, and an agent of social change. Visitors of all ages can explore how psychology has become a part of popular culture and everyday life.

Here are photos from our visit, which include Julie trying some of the psychological tests. We recommend visiting the "Current Exhibits at the Institute" web page to learn more about what we saw during our visit:

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides!!

 

Related Blog Posts

We always like to end our blog posts with a list of related blog posts. We hope you take time to explore some of the following.

IMPORTANT: Our photos above from the tour of the institute and museum just give you a very small taste of all that we saw. Please see the blog post about Stuart's tour on March 20, 2024, for more details about what there is to see:

 

I have several blog posts tagged as dealing with the topic of "History."

 

Here are two blog posts about meeting Cummings Center for the History of Psychology staff, and seeing the 2022 FRONT International art installation at the National Museum of Psychology:

 

If you are interested in things to do in the area near Cummings Center for the History of Psychology, see my blog posts tagged with "Akron."

 

We want to thank the "Misinformation Society" panel members for sharing their knowledge on this important topic. Also, a BIG thank you to the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology staff for their Brown Bag History series and for our visit to the institute galleries and the Psychology Museum. We are very fortunate to have this great resource in Northeast Ohio.