Alumnus Dr. Richard McKay
The search for a “patient zero”—popularly understood to be the first person infected in an epidemic—has been key to media coverage of major infectious disease outbreaks for more than three decades. Yet the term itself did not exist before the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. How did this idea so swiftly come to exert such a strong grip on the scientific, media, and popular consciousness? In Patient Zero, Richard A. McKay interprets a wealth of archival sources and interviews to demonstrate how this seemingly new concept drew upon centuries-old ideas—and fears—about contagion and social disorder.
On Thursday, January 25, 7-9pm at Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium, 1238 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC, Film Alumnus Richard McKay will lead the discussion. Light refreshments will be provided.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1555981801105999/
Richard McKay Biography
Originally from Vancouver, where he earned a B.A in Film and History from the University of British Columbia graduating, Richard came to the United Kingdom in 2005 to the University of Oxford to undertake master’s and doctoral degrees in history. He completed a master’s degree and doctorate in the history of medicine, focusing on the history of HIV/AIDS and public health. Continuing to have one foot in the higher education sector: he is currently a part-time researcher at a world-leading university and his research has been published in the Bulletin of the History of Medicine and Nature. In 2017, his first book, Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic, was published by the University of Chicago Press (and also released as an audiobook).
After receiving a Certificate in Coaching Skills from Coaching Development Ltd., he earned an Associate Certified Coach credential from the International Coach Federation maintaining the ethics and standards of behaviour set by this global organisation in my practice.
In addition to academic pursuits, he works independently as a career, writing, and life coach, specialising in work with clients in academia, publishing, and other creative industries. Prospective clients are invited to visit www.richlifecoaching.co.uk
What would you like to know about my time at UBC? Back then the film and TV studies major (during 3rd and 4th year) was part of UBC’s B.A. degree, and applicants underwent a highly competitive (or at least that’s how it felt) process towards the end of 2nd year. Given that the program didn’t require a huge number of specified pre-requisites, I really enjoyed being able to study a wide range of general arts courses during my first two years. I took Arts One (Authority and Autonomy: 18 combined credits of English, history, and philosophy) in my first year, and explored widely from then on: economics, geography, astronomy, medical ethics, English literature, American history, British imperial history – not to mention my full complement of film history, theory, and production courses. I had the pleasure (and pain!) of co-producing two 16mm short films – Urban Dreams (1999, with Sarah Shamesh and Katherine Pettit), and The Theory of Or (2000, with Graham Tallman and Katherine Pettit) – and of developing my skills as a 16mm cinematographer and editor (on the Steenbeck) along the way.
I was convinced back then that I would work as a cinematographer in the film industry, but still wanted to have a university degree under my belt just in case. I’m glad I followed this route, rather than paying roughly the same amount of tuition for a one-year film school degree. For a number of reasons, the unionized film industry and I were ill-matched, and within four years of graduating I found myself seeking a different career path, one which would offer me more opportunities for intellectual challenge, public service, and a better work-life balance. My bachelor’s degree was vital for pursuing further graduate studies in history, and the fact that I had done very well across the board in my undergraduate academic work stood me in good stead for my grad school applications.
I’ve spent well over a decade researching and writing my first book, Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic which grew out of my thesis project for my master’s degree in the history of science, medicine, and technology at the University of Oxford. Though my love of images has informed my historical practice through heightened attention to visual sources, cinema has not been in the forefront of my mind for many years. That being said, I’ve consistently thought of myself as a storyteller – an identity that very much links my film studies, my historical research, and my ongoing work as a coach. Looking back, I can see that my time at UBC – in and outside the film program – really nurtured this storytelling sense of self, and I will always be grateful for the four very full years that I spent there.
http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo16463356.html
