This section explains some of the philosophical underpinnings of the Book Clubs for Change. The page is intended to give participants and would-be-facilitators insight into how the book clubs have evolved and provide inspiration to lead robust, interesting clubs.
Book Clubs for Change are inspired by Bryan Alexander’s digital book clubs.
I encourage meeting facilitators to open their sessions with dialogue circles. Rooted in Native American pedagogy, this common restorative justice tool is a great way to get know you're group members, build trust, and put people into a listening, reflective mood to discuss whatever book you're reading.
What's the most remote place you've ever visited? (can be literal distance or metaphorical)
Can you pinpoint when devices took over your attention?
What is something in nature you noticed this weekend?
We're all coming to book group with different mindsets and expectations, so it is helpful to spend some time at your first session discussing how your group will interact. Creating a community agreement can help smooth disagreements and guide your group as everyone delves into deep—and possibly personal—discussions. Since this is a learning exercise, we encourage groups to explore shifting their book club from a safe space to a brave space; however every group is different and should negotiate what works best for them!
Brian Arao and Kristi Clemens (2013) developed the concept of brave space at NYU from their work with undergraduate orientation groups. The framework encourages participants to engage in deep reflection and helps facilitate challenging conversations.
InHow To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny O'Dell, O'Dell encourages people to realize participation is not the end all be all, and that it is important to claim our space for individual interests. By choosing to miss out on something, we are choosing how and where to spend our attention, instead of it being dictated by social norms. I encourage participants to miss one meeting and dedicate that time to something they would not get to otherwise.
Book club meets every other week to give participants the time to read each of the assigned chapters twice. The first time is meant to be done without the discussion questions, so that readers form their own impressions of the text. Once the discussion questions are published, go back and re-read the chapter using the questions, and place those in dialogue with the original thoughts and impressions.
One of the pillars of brave spaces is not leaning out of uncomfortable discussions. I challenge participants to look at the list of topics/book chapters and decide which week will be the most difficult and commit to coming to that discussion, instead of using it as a #NOMO opportunity.