Parks and Remler provide expertise in Dept. of History’s “Pandemics” series

October 13, 2020

In October, the Georgia Southern University Department of History began hosting a series to explore the history of pandemics.

In a public statement released by the History Dept., they reminded individuals the importance of understanding and studying history during this time.

Part of the statement reads: “We are living in a moment of transformational change. The global coronavirus pandemic is forcing us as a society and individuals to grapple with issues raised by a global economy, disparities in health care, and different levels of confidence in medicine and science. The necessary changes to our lives required to slow the spread of the virus are transforming how we live, work, socialize, exercise, and pray…Now more than ever it is important to understand that history, so that we can see how we got to these moments and how we as citizens can shape them. To that end, the Department of History faculty are offering posts that help to contextualize these events.”

During the first lecture of the series, College of Education’s Professor of Counselor Education Fayth Parks, Ph.D., shared her research and knowledge on rural health, the HIV/AIDs epidemic, and how culture connections lead to healing and recovery.

Parks is an active researcher and speaker on cultural health disparities, examining how diverse groups interpret mental health, healing and illness recovery and developing coping strategies that can facilitate personal strengths, positive emotions and behavior change. She also volunteers as a member of the Georgia Department of Public Health Infectious Disease Division to assist with the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes project in sharing information and conducting virtual clinics with healthcare providers. Parks serves on the Advisory Council for the Southeast AIDS Education and Training Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

To watch the lecture “Pandemics: Lessons from History” featuring Parks, visit https://www.facebook.com/historygeorgiasouthern/videos/1581689875347021

On Oct. 14, Nancy Remler, Ph.D., associate professor of English education, joined the second lecture of the series, “Pestilence, Pandemics, and Public Health in Georgia History.”

Remler discussed research she conducted for her first novel, Dunaway’s Crossing, which is set during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Utilizing one particular middle-Georgia case of Spanish Influenza, Remler demonstrated symptoms, disease progression and public response to the disease.

Remler taught English courses at Armstrong State beginning in 1992, and has since moved to the College of Education to work with preparing educators to teach English in middle and high school classrooms. Alongside her college faculty role, Remler is a published author with four college writing textbooks and three fiction novels to her name. When published in 2012, Dunaway’s Crossing reached the top of Amazon’s historical fiction list, and earned Remler a finalist position in the Georgia Author of the Year Award in 2013.

To watch the lecture, “Pestilence, Pandemics, and Public Health in Georgia History,” featuring Remler, visit https://www.facebook.com/historygeorgiasouthern/videos/