“The Naked Truth: Advertising’s Image of Women” is the topic of a free public lecture by Dr. Jean Kilbourne at East Tennessee State University on April 16 at 2 p.m. in the Brown Hall auditorium.
Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising. Her films, slide lectures and television appearances have been seen by millions of people.
Her book, Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, won the Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology in 2000. She is also known for her award-winning documentaries, which include the “Killing Us Softly” series, “Slim Hopes” and “Calling the Shots.”
Kilbourne holds a B.A. in English from Wellesley College and a doctorate in education from Boston University, has been named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses today, and has twice received the Lecturer of the Year award from the National Association for Campus Activities.
She is “known for her wit and warmth and her ability to present provocative topics in such a way that (her) lectures unite rather than divide, encourage dialogue, and move and empower people to take action.”
A reception will follow Kilbourne’s lecture, which is co-sponsored by ETSU’s Tri-Iota Women’s Studies Honor Society, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, Student Government Association B.U.C. Funding, departments of Psychology and Human Development and Learning, Women’s Studies Program, Campus Advocates Against Sexual Violence, Office of Equity and Diversity, Women’s Resource Center, and Center for Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership.
And at 5 p.m., ETSU students in the Women’s Studies course, “Gender, Culture and Textuality,” will host a free public screening of Kilbourne’s “Killing Us Softly III” in 118 Rogers-Stout Hall. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with participants from the campus and community regarding culture, gender and text. This event is also co-sponsored by Women’s Studies, as well as ETSU Cross-Disciplinary Studies. Refreshments will be served.
For information on Kilbourne’s lecture or special assistance for those with disabilities, call Dr. Chris Dula in the Department of Psychology at 439-8307 or the Women’s Resource Center at 439-7847. For more information on the film screening and panel discussion, contact Debora Bassham at 863-1054, 434-2037, or zdjb6@goldmail.etsu.edu.

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