Visiting scholar to give talk at local museum

Dr. Miroslawa Wielopolska-Szymura, a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at SUNY Fredonia, will give a presentation at the Darwin R. Barker Historical Museum on Saturday, March 23, at 2 p.m.

Light refreshments will be served and the campus and community are invited to attend the presentation. The museum is located at 7 Day St, Fredonia.

Dr. Wielopolska-Szymura is an associate professor at the Institute of Journalism and Media Communication, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. She has served as the deputy director of the Journalism and Social Communication degree program since 2020. Much of her scholarship and teaching is dedicated to combating disinformation and fake news. She has worked with the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. State Department, and is a member of the European Academy of Robert Schuman Foundation. 
Wielopolska-Szymura has published widely on topics of communication, media, and politics, including: the politicization of press culture; the role of radio as a medium; media in service of the armed forces, and more.

“We’re delighted to welcome the distinguished Dr. Wielopolska-Szymura to the Barker. In a wide-ranging recent discussion with the professor, I came away with fascinating insights into the  image of America – and smaller towns like Fredonia in particular – in the European imagination as shaped by television and print media. There are surprising connections, including one between Fredonia and Poland involving Mark Twain,” noted Max Walters, curator of the historical museum.”

Attendees are encouraged to reserve a seat ahead of time by contacting the museum by email or by phone (716) 672-2114

“A wonderful and enjoyable conversation with curator Max Walters about Poles' ideas about the U.S.A. showed not only that the U.S.A. for Poles is a mosaic, composed of newspaper clippings, books, fragments of photos and films, changing like in a kaleidoscope to the rhythm of American music. But, also that there is something more behind this interest - no one in the world loves the U.S.A. more than Poles,” noted Wielopolska-Szymura.