You’re Invited!
Join CJMD fellow Jisoo Kim for a discussion about her recent research on how media turn health and science into political debates, shaping public views, deepening divisions, and affecting trust and communication.
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 13 | 3:30 PM
Location: CMU 126 | Address: 2023 King Ln NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Register Here!
Speaker:
Jisoo Kim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication. Her research examines how communication environments shape democracy, employing a range of research methods, including experiments, surveys, content analysis, social media analysis, and computational methods.
Discussion:
Many Americans now struggle to discuss or engage with anything deemed “political.” As negative views of politics grow, debates over health and scientific issues often become politicized, leading to a host of negative consequences. Tensions rise, conversations shift from shared concerns to partisan disagreements, trust in experts can erode, and people may feel more anxious and unsure about what to believe.
In this talk, Kim introduces a clear framework for understanding what “politicization” actually means and shares research on how media shape public views, deepen political divisions, and influence how people communicate with one another. The discussion draws on cases such as the politicization of COVID‑19 vaccines and climate change.
The goal of the talk is to offer a clearer and more nuanced picture of politicization—one that goes beyond simply counting how often media coverage mentions political actors—and to explore what these patterns mean for everyday relationships and for the health of our democracy.
Questions?
Contact Lauren Rosenthal at laurer7@uw.edu.