A headshot of PhD candidate Kehinde Bademosi.
Student

PhD in Creativity

Kehinde Bademosi is a Nigerian branding expert and storytelling strategist based in Italy, doing his research and scholarship with the PhD in Creativity.

Dissertation

How do you tell someone to care about others in a deeply divided world? How do you tell people to keep physical distance, wear masks, or get vaccinated to protect themselves and others?

While much has been written about COVID, my work focuses on those the government sent into the COVID-19 situation room to cut through the science and appeal to our empathic selves. The storytellers.

Reviewing selected COVID-19 posters from the UK, the US, Australia, and South Africa, I will analyze the storytellers' creative choices and the potential of such decisions to increase our empathic capacity. This exercise will have several implications for those who seek to communicate with empathy in an increasingly fragile world. 

Committee

Scott Kiesling, Chair of the Department of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh

George Aye, Co-Founder and Director of Innovation, Greater Good Studio

Sara Konrath, Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies, IUPUI Lilly Family School of Philanthropy