There is no escape. Microbes are among the masses: too small to see but dangerous on a global scale. A killer coronavirus has been given the suffix ‘19’, to date the novelty and year of its outbreak. How can techniques to project the spread of infection, psychological analysis of susceptibility to misinformation, and studies of artistic representations of microbial threats provide distinct ways to deepen our understanding of this menace?

Join us as three ANU scholars share their expertise. Dr. Katharina Bonzel, a screen studies scholar, will discuss how the 2011 film, Contagion, has accrued new relevance. Associate Professor Kathryn Glass will demonstrate the role of mathematical modelling in understanding disease spread and interventions. Dr. Eryn Newman will talk about how we come to believe dubious things are true and why misinformation often sticks.

Conversations Across the Creek is an initiative of the Humanities Research Centre and the Research School of Chemistry. These events provide a space for continuing dialogue among scientists, social scientists, and humanities scholars, with the aim of stimulating and unearthing research and teaching collaborations across the university.