SAGINAW, MI — Vaccination debates are nothing new, and Saginaw Valley State University will explore the topic with an in-depth lecture on three centuries of vaccine-related controversy. The event, featuring Robert D. Johnston, a history professor from the University of Illinois at Chicago, will take place on Wednesday, November 13, at 7 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Johnston’s talk, titled “Pox, Populism, and Politics: Three Centuries of American Vaccination Controversies,” will cover the evolution of vaccine skepticism in the United States. Beginning with a 1721 debate between a Puritan minister and Benjamin Franklin’s brother, the discussion will trace how vaccination conflicts have shaped public opinion, culminating in the divisive reactions to COVID-19 vaccines. Johnston aims to foster an open and constructive conversation during a Q&A session following his lecture.
Johnston is an esteemed historian and director of the teaching of history program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He earned his Ph.D. from Rutgers University and is recognized for his research and writing, including the award-winning book “The Radical Middle Class: Populist Democracy and the Question of Capitalism in Progressive Era Portland, Oregon,” which received the President’s Book Award from the Social Science History Association. Additionally, he has edited journals on alternative medicine, rural politics, and middle-class dynamics, and co-edited the “Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.” His contributions extend to the College Board’s Advanced Placement United States History exam committee and authoring history textbooks for younger students.
The lecture is part of the Barstow Excellence in Teaching Humanities Seminar series, made possible by a gift from the Barstow Foundation. The foundation focuses on supporting education, health and human services, and humanitarian initiatives, with a particular emphasis on the Midland area.
