Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
7-1-2024
Description
In 2020 our academic library, located in East Tennessee, created a student-focused book club designed to spark discussions around the concepts of race, gender, sexuality, social justice, and the systemic oppression of disenfranchised groups. Now in its seventh semester, our Diverse Characters Book Club has gained in popularity. However, while our book club is garnering more campus visibility and more administrative support, our state has passed, and continues to introduce legislation, that makes it increasingly difficult to teach about racism, homophobia, and sexism in public higher education institutions. We feel now is more important than ever to continue this discourse. Our book club provides a safe space for students to discuss these issues with the learning outcomes of recognizing racism, injustice, privilege, and the way these issues affect all our lives. Are you an academic librarian working in a state with laws against teaching divisive concepts? Are you worried you will no longer have the freedom to discuss diversity and inclusion with students? Join academic librarians from a university in Tennessee, who created a Diverse Characters Book Club to keep these conversations alive. You will leave this session with ideas on how create your own DEI book club, how to navigate divisive concepts laws, and how to continue the important work of diversity, equity, and inclusion even, and especially, in an atmosphere of censorship.
Location
San Diego, CA
Citation Information
Wilson, Jonathan and Gwyn, Lydia C., "Our Diverse Characters Book Club: Discussing Divisive Concepts in Red States" (2024). ETSU Faculty Works. 1056.
https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works-2/1056