The Pandemic Perhaps: Dramatic Events in a Public Culture of Danger

In 2005, American experts sent out urgent warnings throughout the country: a devastating flu pandemic was fast approaching. Influenza was a serious disease, not a seasonal nuisance; it could kill millions of people. If urgent steps were not taken immediately, the pandemic could shut down the economy and “trigger a reaction that will change the world overnight.”

The Pandemic Perhaps explores how American experts framed a catastrophe that never occurred. The urgent threat that was presented t...