Kara Heitz, Speaker
Lecturer in the Liberal Arts department at the Kansas City Art Institute
Pandemic on the Prairie
Presentation by: Kara Heitz
School closures, mask mandates, social distancing, infection waves, debates over a disease’s origin, disparities in health care access, quarantine fatigue. These descriptors could apply to current times as easily as to 1918 when the world experienced its last major pandemic. The influenza epidemic, also known as the Spanish Flu, killed approximately 50 million people worldwide, 676,000 Americans, and over 12,000 Kansans between 1918-1920. While a world war waged, fear and anxiety also loomed at home. This talk tells the stories of how Kansas coped during this tumultuous time, including stories of Kansans Amelia Earhart and Dwight Eisenhower as well as lesser-known stories of Latinos, African Americans, and Native peoples. This presentation can also be tailored to a specific community or region of the state.
Contact Kara directly about speaking at your event:
kheitz@kcai.edu
(202) 213-3201
Mission Hills