DEI Book Club
Utica University's Annual Book Club is now a year-long event!
Join Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Student Transitions in book facilitations, author events, community collaborations, and creative readings. We will be partnering with departments across campus, local colleges, and community organizations for a fun series that is educational as well as social. All are welcome!
If you're an avid or an occasional reader, an activist or not, an extrovert or an introvert, this book club is for you!
You can grab a copy of each book at the library or purchase through your local bookseller.
- Barnes & Noble in New Hartford is offering anyone who purchases a book club book and shows their Utica ID 20% off.
- The Utica University Bookstore will offer 10% off each book club title purchased there.
Registered participants will receive discussion questions for each book to help guide the reading process.
For more information, contact DEI Project and Program Manager Meghan Jordan at mejordan@utica.edu
September
READ: The Round House (2013) by Louise Erdrich, about an Ojibwe boy living on a reservation in North Dakota, who seeks justice after a terrible crime.
DISCUSS: An afternoon tea party to discuss the first chapter of Erdrich's The Round House will be held 3:30 - 4:30 pm. on September 30, 2021 in the lobby of the Wilcox Center. RSVP to Meghan Jordan at mejordan@utica.edu
A second session, finishing up discussion of The Round House will take place Monday, November 1 from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. in Carbone Auditorium, located in Bull Hall (formerly known as the ECJS Building)
A virtual discussion option will also be available via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 984 1248 4501
Passcode: 4vJFM2
October
CELEBRATE: Indigenous People's Day (October 11) and Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)
ENGAGE: Participate in a facilitated discussion of the novel
ATTEND: A partner event with SafeTrax and the WRC for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
November
Before a new book is begun, a second session, finishing up discussion of The Round House will take place Monday, November 1 from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. in Carbone Auditorium, located in Bull Hall (formerly known as the ECJS Building)
December
READ: The Book of Unknown Americans (2015) by Cristina Henriquez about two star-crossed lovers navigating life in America as immigrants.
DISCUSS:
Due to COVID restrictions, the DEI Book Club December discussion will be held virtually on December 8 from 5-6 p.m.
Participants should read just the first chapter of the novel, The Book of Unknown Americans. Conversation about the book will finish in January after the start of the new semester.
The virtual discussion is available via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 984 1248 4501
Passcode: 4vJFM2
The DEI Book Club will also be partnering with TRiO Student Support Services and the Mohawk Valley Latino Association to donate new, unwrapped toys to children in the area. Participants are encouraged to bring a toy with them to the discussion, or to Meghan Jordan's office at Wilcox 103, throughout December.
January
READ: The Book of Unknown Americans (2015) by Cristina Henriquez about two star-crossed lovers navigating life in America as immigrants.
DISCUSS: The DEI Book Club January discussion will be held virtually on January 20 from 5-6 p.m.
The virtual discussion is available via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 984 1248 4501
CELEBRATE: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 17)
ENGAGE: Participate in a facilitated discussion of the novel
ATTEND: Help with the Mohawk Valley Latino Association's annual Toy Drive (Dec-Jan)
February
READ: Somebody's Daughter (2021) by Ashley C. Ford, about the author's coming-of-age under the weight of her fraught relationship with her mother and her father's incarceration.
DISCUSS:
A virtual discussion option will also be available via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 984 1248 4501
Passcode: 4vJFM2
CELEBRATE: Black Heritage Month
ENGAGE: Join author Ashley C. Ford for a reading from her book followed by a fireside chat as part of the Utica Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Community Partnership.
March
CELEBRATE: Women's Herstory Month
ENGAGE: Participate in a facilitated discussion about the book
ATTEND: Join An in-person event with author Ashley C. Ford and partner events with the Womyn's Resource Center
READ: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (2019) by Ocean Vuong, about a son learning his family's history in Vietnam and exploring his own identity through the prism of race, class, and masculinity.
DISCUSS:
A virtual discussion option will also be available via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 984 1248 4501
Passcode: 4vJFM2
April
READ: Continue reading On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (2019) by Ocean Vuong, about a son learning his family's history in Vietnam and exploring his own identity through the prism of race, class, and masculinity.
DISCUSS:
A virtual discussion option will also be available via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 984 1248 4501
Passcode: 4vJFM2
May
CELEBRATE: Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
ENGAGE: Participate in a facilitated discussion about the book
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