KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee’s Life of the Mind program tonight will host a campus visit from Gerardine Wurzburg, Academy Award-winning producer and director.
Her Oscar-nominated film, “Autism is a World,” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center auditorium. Wurzburg will speak about making the film afterward.
An additional screening of the film is scheduled for 4 p.m. today in the Hodges Library auditorium.
“Autism is a World” is a rare look at autism through the words of a young woman who lives with the disorder.
“UT is honored to host such an acclaimed filmmaker and director,” said Dr. Mary Papke, special assistant to the Chancellor and associate dean of graduate studies. “We look forward to viewing her remarkable film and hearing her talk about the process of making it.”
Wurzburg develops media on current topics and trends in health, education, contemporary history and social justice.
Autism is the topic of this year’s Life of the Mind series, which requires all incoming UT freshmen to read the same book, and then discuss it in their classes. This year’s book is Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” the story of a 15-year-old autistic math genius who wants to know who killed the neighbor’s dog.
For more information on the Life of the Mind program, visit http://chancellor.tennessee.edu/lifeofthemind/index.shtml.
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Contact:
Dr. Mary Papke (865-974-4845)
Ron Laffitte (865-974-3179)