From Nixon to Trump:
Changes in US Media Coverage of the Presidency
A Two-Part Event
The Department of American Studies is excited to be joined by visiting professor Dr. Phillip Ardoin during the spring/summer semester 2023. Dr. Ardoin is Professor of American Politics at Appalachian State University, NC, USA and as part his visiting professorship at the University of Innsbruck, the Department of American Studies is hosting a two-part event that explores the connection between US-American media and the government of the United States with a special focus on the US-American presidency. The event’s historical arc from the beginning of the second half of the 20th century to Donald Trump and Joe Biden aims at critically examining the changes in the political media landscape in the United States.
Guest Lecture: Prof. Phillip Ardoin on "A Democracy in Crisis: Truth, Trust, and the Media in the US"
April 19, 2023 ♦ HS 7 ♦ 6- 7:30 pm
Dr. Ardoin’s guest lecture is titled "A Democracy in Crisis: Truth, Trust, and the Media in the US” and will focus on how the tremendous growth of partisan and fragmented media in the US threatens the stability of US-American democracy. What is truth, for many Americans, depends on the source of their news. Was the 2020 election stolen? Do windmills cause cancer? Is global warming real? Dr. Ardoin's guest lecture will examine the growing fragmentation of media in the US and how it is impacting contemporary American politics and the future of Democracy in the US.
Film Screening of The Post
May 10, 2023 ♦ Leokino ♦ 6:15 pm
The second part of the event will take place at the Leokino for a special screening of The Post (2017, dir. Stephen Spielberg). The Post, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, is a historical political thriller about The Washington Post and the publication of the Pentagon Papers. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Dr. Phillip Ardoin.