Science in the Movies: Mental Health & Mental Illness

SCONC and S&S are partnering with the NC Science Festival for the next event in our ongoing “Science in the Movies” series. This free series explores the way scientific concepts are communicated via popular cinema. On 4/13 we take a close look at mental health/mental illness.

Our panel of experts will select short clips from several seminal (and sometimes not-so-seminal, but still popular/fun!) films related to the theme. The panel consists of both film studies experts and scientists. Each clip is introduced, screened, and discussed by the experts, who will then answer questions from the audience.

Panelists for this event include:

• Marsha Gordon – Dr. Gordon is an Assoc. Professor of Film Studies at NC State University, co-host of NPR’s “Movies on the Radio” which airs on The State of Things, and a veteran of the first two “Science in the Movies” events. Her research interests include stardom and movie fan culture through the studio era; the birth and decline of the Hollywood studio system; independent filmmakers of the 1940s and 1950s; orphan films, especially of the educational variety; and the intersections between film and other art forms, such as literature.
• Ahmad Hariri – Dr. Hariri is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University, Director of Duke’s Laboratory of NeuroGenetics and a DIBS Faculty Associate. His research focuses on the biology of individual differences in complex behavioral traits and related risk for psychopathology.
• Timothy Strauman – Dr. Strauman is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke and a Faculty Affiliate with the DIBS Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. His research focuses on the psychological and neurobiological processes that enable self-regulation, as well as the relation between self-regulation and affect.
• Matthew Conner – Dr. Conner is a Psychiatrist in private practice in Durham, NC. He provides psychotherapy and psychiatric medication management, as well as consultation to the medical community. His particular interests are in psychodynamic psychotherapy, college mental health, women’s health, and substance abuse recovery. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the North Carolina Psychiatric Association, and the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists.

There is free parking available across the street from DIBS, at the Bryan Research Garage (311 Research Drive). Click here for a map.

For questions, contact Jory Weintraub.

Organizers/Sponsors:

Science Communicators of North Carolina (SCONC)

Duke Initiative for Science & Society

Duke Institute for Brain Sciences (DIBS)

Financial support from the North Carolina Science Festival