Hi all,
Below is a note from Irena Polić, managing director of the Humanities Institute. As you’ll see, the HI is looking for faculty who might want to participate in the next Deep Read, Tommy Orange’s 2018 novel There There. While there may not be scholarship on literature or the themes and questions raised by the novel, you might still want to be part of the campus conversation, so I’ve forwarding Irena’s message. I know she’d welcome participants from all divisions.
All the best,
Paul
Dear Faculty,
I’m writing to gauge your interest in participating in the 2021 Deep Read focusing on Tommy Orange’s novel There There. The Deep Read is a Humanities Institute-led program that focuses on a single book and author, walks a general audience through the novel with insights from campus scholars, organizes several salon-style events based on the novel and its concerns, and culminates with a large event with the author.
Last year’s Deep Read with Margaret Atwood was one of the most well-attended events we’ve had, and it fulfilled our key goal of connecting the important work being done on our campus with both current and former students as well as the general public. This year, we have another opportunity to promote the scholarship, teaching, and organizational work of our campus and to engage with themes and questions raised by Tommy Orange’s novel, such as Indigeneity and Identity, Historical Memory, Urban Native American Experience, Indigenous Cultural Expression and Storytelling, Historical Revisionism, Collective Trauma, and Historical Legacies of Genocide and Occupation.
The Ask
You would need to read the book, participate in an interview with our communications team, and take part in a virtual, live salon where we’ll discuss the book with members of our campus community, alumni, and the general public. We can provide the book.
The Offer
We’ll publish your insights on our website, promote them to our growing list of Deep Readers, and publicize your participation widely on social media. It’s a great platform for translating high-level academic work to a broad, eager, and diverse audience at a time when the work we do here on campus needs new advocates and folks are hungry for the thinking and insights you have to offer. Here is how we parsed Atwood’s novel last time—through the academic lenses of Feminist Studies, Anthropology, and Literature:
Week 2: Feminist Intersections
f this is of interest, please respond to this email and we can follow up with a quick call. We’re open to many approaches to Orange’s novel, including but certainly not limited to those listed above, and we are eager to learn what you might bring to a broad, engaged, public discussion around his work. If you could let us know by Thursday, November 12th we’d really appreciate it.
Thank you,
Irena
—
Irena Polić
Managing Director
The Humanities Institute
UC Santa Cruz
831.459.1780
https://thi.ucsc.edu