ALLIANCE, Ohio — The first “UMU Experts: Lunch Series” event of the 2019-2020 Academic Year will feature Dr. Heather Duda, founding dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Mount Union on Tuesday, October 29 at noon in the Newbold Room of the Hoover-Price Campus Center on Mount Union’s campus.

Appropriate for the Halloween season, Duda will present, “Silent Terror: The Mechanics of the Early American Horror Films.” Her presentation will feature an examination of 1920’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” starring John Barrymore, and 1925’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” starring Lon Chaney, Sr., in order to illustrate the important role silent horror films play in the history of the American horror film industry. 

Duda has taught a variety of courses in composition, film, and literature. Her first publication was the book The Monster Hunter in Modern Popular Culture, and at the 2018 Midwest Popular Culture/American Culture Association Conference, she presented “Saying It All with a Look (and a Voiceover): Adapting the Internal Monologue in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Alias Grace.” 

Duda earned a B.A. degree from Lycoming College, an M.A. from the University of Maryland College Park and a Ph.D. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. 

Two other lunches are scheduled to take place Tuesday, November 19 and Tuesday, January 28 and will feature presentations from Mount Union’s other two founding deans, Dr. Kristine Still, founding dean for the College of Applied and Social Sciences, and Dr. Sandra Madar, founding dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences. Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the event that was scheduled for November 19 will be rescheduled in spring 2020.

The cost to attend the event is $10 and lunch will be provided. Season passes are available for all three dates at a cost of $27. Space is limited, so to reserve a spot for the event, email Angi Swonger at swongeal@mountunion.edu or call (330) 823-6063. 

For more information on the UMU Experts series contact Ryan Smith at smithry@mountunion.edu.