Nov. 18, 2020—With Thanksgiving around the corner, CU Boulder experts are available for media interviews about a variety of holiday-related topics, from managing a potentially lonely pandemic holiday season to online holiday shopping tips.
Managing mental health issues
For many families, Thanksgiving and other holidays will look very different this year, without the large get-togethers the holiday often brings. June Gruber, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, can discuss how to manage expectations and mental health struggles amid a holiday season in the middle of a pandemic.
Mixing politics and pumpkin pie
With the country still politically divided after a historically contentious election, Psychology Professor Leaf Van Boven can discuss talk about whether, and how to discuss politics during the family in-person or remote gathering. Van Boven’s research has shown repeatedly that Democrats and Republicans have more in common than they think they do.
Online holiday shopping tips
As many people avoid stores this year, Donald Lichtenstein, a marketing professor at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, can give research-backed online shopping tips. Lichtenstein has published research showing online ratings may not be what they seem. He can also explain why online stores’ sales may not be as good as advertised, and why attorneys general generally can’t do much about deceptive advertisers.
History of Thanksgiving
Honor Sachs is an assistant professor of history who specializes in early America, the American Revolution, and the early republic. She has written about the nineteenth-century origins of Thanksgiving and can speak about the founding myths that inform and distort this national holiday.