Seminar Series: Dr. Gerald P. McKinley, PhD

Outside Evidence: Ghost Stories, Anthropology, and Environmental Health Policy

Gerald P. McKinley

Associate Professor
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
Department of Anthropology,
Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health,
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University

Short Biography:
Gerald P. McKinley is a Medical Anthropologist who specializes in the social determinants of mental health. As a community-based researcher he has explored the importance of relationship-based research, environmental policy, social media, and lived experiences among a variety of populations. As the 2023 Canadian Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, Dr. McKinley studied cultural aspects of environmental policy in the United States. His current research includes the resulting Outside Evidence Project and the study of change and adaptation among men aged 45-65. Dr. McKinley is core teaching faculty and Graduate Chair in the Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health at Western University.

Abstract:
This talk begins with stories. Ghost stories specifically. Drawing on an ongoing study of contemporary folktales in Canada, I use these narratives as a means to think about how forms of knowledge move through society and why some stay with us longer. I will use selected tools from the discipline of anthropology to bridge across to the stories that are told in and about environmental health policy. My focus will shift to the examples from the Supreme Court of the United States’ recent and ongoing use of the Major Questions Doctrine to gut both the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. I argue that by paying attention to the process of knowledge diffusion and cultural durability we can gain a better understanding of cultural factors which sit outside of evidence to contribute to the policy making process.

Area of Research:
Social determinants of health, mental health, environmental policy, social media.

Date: Friday, September 26
Time: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: PHFM 1150 (Western Centre for Public Health and Family Medicine)