On Thursday, September 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Bert Hansen, Ph.D will present Wonders of Nature and Miracles of Medicine: Popularizing Science in LIFE Magazine, 1936-1972.

A 6 p.m. reception will precede the presentation.

Dr. Hansen, a professor of history at Baruch College of The City University of New York, teaches courses on American civilization and the history of science and medicine. In his talk, Hansen will explore the role of LIFE magazine played in shaping Americans’ ideas of science in the middle of the 20th century. Using images from the magazine’s photo archives, Dr. Hansen will explain how LIFE presented science with a humane, yet materialistic outlook in which medical miracles and natural wonders awed viewers, but with no suggestion of mystery, purpose, or spirituality. 

Dr. Hansen’s presentation is co-sponsored by the History and Philosophy of Medicine Department at Kansas University Medical Center.