Bernard L. Brock Memorial Lecture: Barack Obama and the Age of Social Media

Dr. Cara Finnegan is a writer, teacher, and historian of photography. A member of the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1999, she is currently Professor and Associate Head in the Department of Communication. She was named a University Scholar in 2017 and holds affiliated appointments in Art History, Gender and Women's Studies, and the Center for Writing Studies. Her books and essays explore the role of photography as a tool for public life. Her latest book is Making Photography Matter: A Viewer's History from the Civil War to the Great Depression (University of Illinois Press, 2015), which won the National Communication Association's 2016 Winans-Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address.

During this presentation, Dr. Finnegan will discuss the Obama White House decision of making official White House photographs available to the public via the social media photography site Flickr. This social media photostream serves as a key example of how social media practices have transformed photography today.

Thursday, March 28, 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Manoogian Hall (Room 91)

This annual lecture series is named in honor of Dr. Bernie Brock, Professor of Communication, gifted scholar, and noted author. Dr. Brock was a supportive and committed mentor and colleague, and a dedicated and inspiring teacher who taught at Wayne State University for 35 years and directed more than 30 doctoral dissertations.