Arline T. Geronimus, Sc.D.
Professor in the School of Public Health and Research Professor in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan
Doriane C. Miller, MD
Professor of Medicine and the inaugural director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality and the director of Health Equity Integration for the Institute of Translational Medicine at the University of Chicago
Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society
BONUS AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of Weathering from FAN’s partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Prof. Geronimus and Dr. Miller that will start immediately after the webinar. Details on the webinar registration page.
Pioneering scientist and public health activist Arline T. Geronimus, Sc.D. first coined the term “weathering” almost 40 years ago to describe the effects of systemic oppression on marginalized people’s bodies—even down to the cellular level. Amid a raging pandemic, environmental chaos, and economic instability, those effects are now felt more acutely than ever. Much like an unprotected house being battered by relentless rainstorms, systemic injustice erodes the body over time, taking a physical toll—often deadly—on Black, brown, working class, and poor communities.
In her groundbreaking new book, Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society, Dr. Geronimus, a professor in the School of Public Health and Research Professor in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, argues that health and aging have more to do with how society treats us than how well we take care of ourselves. For too long, the public has believed in the concept of a universally uniform growth, health, and aging process in which making “healthy choices” will lead to a long, fruitful life. Yet hard-working and responsible people of color, working class, and poor whites are often propelled onto trajectories of deteriorated health, accelerated aging, and dying well before their time simply because they live in a rigged and exploitative system.
Prof. Geronimus will be in conversation with Doriane C. Miller, MD, Professor of Medicine and the inaugural director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality and the director of Health Equity Integration for the Institute of Translational Medicine at the University of Chicago. The Center for Community Health and Vitality’s mission is to improve population health outcomes for residents on the South Side of Chicago through community-engaged research, demonstration, and service models.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on our website and YouTube channel.
Event Sponsors
- Baker Demonstration School
- Beacon Academy
- Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
- Catherine Cook School
- Compass Health Center
- Connections for the Homeless
- Countryside Day School
- Evanston Scholars
- Evanston Township High School D202
- Family Service Center
- Francis W. Parker School
- Glencoe D35
- Gorton Center
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- Hyde Park Day School
- Illinois Student Assistance Commission
- Kenilworth D38
- Lake Bluff D65
- Lake Forest Academy
- Lake Forest Country Day School
- Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools
- Leo Catholic High School
- Mindful Psychology Associates PC
- Morgan Park Academy
- New Trier High School D203
- New Trier Parents’ Association
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Pope John XXIII School
- Rebel Human
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Resurrection College Prep High School
- Roycemore School
- Santa Clara University School of Law
- Science & Arts Academy
- Stevenson High School D125
- The Academy at St. Joan of Arc
- The Alliance for Early Childhood
- The Avery Coonley School
- The Cove School
- The Frances Xavier Warde School
- University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
- University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Parents’ Association
- Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
- Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.)
Upcoming Events
The Miraculous from the Material: Understanding the Wonders of Nature
Alan Lightman, Ph.D.
Professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT and author of seven novels
Dacher Keltner, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Faculty Director of the Greater Good Science Center, and bestselling author
ON ZOOM
The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions
Michael Norton, Ph.D.
Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Sam Sommers, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Racial Equity and Diversity Lab at Tufts University
ON ZOOM
