FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cindy Deppe, media relations, 641-269-4834

March 27, 2008

POPULAR CULTURE EXPERT TO SUGGEST INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO "RESCUING THE ECONOMY FROM THE ECONOMISTS"

GRINNELL, IA—Popular culture expert Lawrence Grossberg will deliver the Grinnell College Scholars’ Convocation on "Rescuing the Economy from Economists: A Challenge for Interdisciplinarity" on Thurs., Apr. 10 at 11 a.m. in the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101, on the Grinnell College campus.

An internationally renowned scholar of cultural studies and popular culture, Grossberg is the Morris Davis Distinguished Professor of Communication Studies and Cultural Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His research for many years focused on American popular music and youth culture but his recent work has turned to contemporary U.S. political culture, including his book "Caught in the Crossfire: Kids, Politics, and America’s Future."

As a cultural studies scholar, Grossberg believes that complex social realities, like the economy, require the research, scholarship, and engagement of experts in multiple disciplines, not only economists. He has written extensively about the philosophy and theory of culture and communication, and the interdisciplinary nature of cultural studies. For nearly 20 years, he has co-edited "Cultural Studies," one of the most respected academic journals in its field.

Grossberg’s lecture is part of a "Thinking Interdisciplinarity" symposium, Apr. 9-11, sponsored by the college’s Center for the Humanities. More information about the humanities symposium can be found at http://web.grinnell.edu/CentHumanities/symposium/ThinkingInterdisciplinarity.html.

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