Going Viral: Impact and Implications of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Wednesday, April 4 – Friday, April 6, 2018, at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The symposium will include the Gillings School’s annual Fred T. Foard Lecture (see below) on April 5.
Watch recorded videos of the symposium sessions.
About the Symposium
An interdisciplinary symposium to mark the 100th anniversary of one of the deadliest pandemics in human history will be hosted April 4-6, 2018, by UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC Libraries, UNC’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and RTI International.
Symposium events will offer perspectives from the vantage points of medicine, health, social sciences and the humanities. Speakers include leading experts in epidemiology, virology, medicine, communications, literature, history, ethics, policy and other fields.
Other “Going Viral” Events
The Gillings School is hosting several events linked with the symposium that are free and open to the public.
Learn more about our students-only Pandemic Board Game Lunch; and Gillings Family Day at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences!
Keynote Speaker: Gina Kolata
Gina Kolata
On Thursday, April 5, at 6 p.m., as keynote speaker for the symposium, Gina Kolata will deliver the 50th annual Fred T. Foard Jr. Memorial lecture.
Kolata, best-selling author and journalist for the The New York Times, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist who specializes in demystifying the science of personal health. She is the author of six books, including the best seller Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It. Her acclaimed writing has influenced public policy and upended conventional wisdom.
Register online now to reserve a spot at the Foard lecture!
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It
Kolata’s book explores how we might prevent a recurrence of flu as devastating as the 1918 pandemic.
In 1918 the Great Flu Pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people virtually overnight. If such a plague returned today, taking a comparable percentage of the world’s population, 150 million people would die.
In this best-selling non-fiction account, acclaimed science journalist Gina Kolata unravels the mystery of this lethal virus with the high drama of a great adventure story.
From Alaska to Norway, from the streets of Hong Kong to the corridors of the White House, Kolata tracks the race to recover the live pathogen and probes the fear that has impelled government policy.
Flu compellingly addresses the prospects for a great epidemic’s recurrence and considers what we can do to prevent it.
Virtual Exhibit
Visit the Health Sciences Library’s Virtual Exhibit for an interactive view of the flu’s impact at UNC and throughout North Carolina.
Share Your Stories
Did your grandparents ever tell you about their lives during the flu pandemic? Is there a story that has been passed down in your family about what life was like in 1918? If so, we’d like to hear from you. The Going Viral discussion website is a place to share stories, recollections, dialogue and artifacts related to the 1918 flu epidemic.
