Readers across South Dakota can take part in the Humanities Council Reading Series by joining an e-mail discussion by computer.
The discussions will center on the literature of Africa.
Interested readers can also sign up at 31 selected libraries across the
state or through the Council offices in Brookings to receive copies of Things Fall Apart by
Chinua Achebe and Crimes of Conscience by Nadine Gordimer. In addition to the books,
participants will receive a study guide written by noted scholars who've examined the
books more closely and instructions on how to subscribe to the online discussions.
A nominal fee of $10 helps subsidize the cost of the books. The email discussions are
moderated by Michael Day of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid
City.
On September 15, Day posed questions through e-mail
(of items) to think about while reading Things Fall Apart. Readers can respond with
comments or questions of their own at any time during their reading and hear from others readers of the book
around the state. The Achebe book, set in Nigeria, examines the Igbo culture before,
during and after white colonization. Tribal and agricultural practices give a unique
picture of the sub-Saharan culture that also offers points of cultural comparisons
with South Dakota.
Discussion of the second book,
Crimes of Conscience, by Nadine Gordimer will begin October 30. The collection of short stories by the
1991 Nobel Prize winner, set in South Africa before the end of apartheid, describes the devastating effects of trying to
live as a dark skinned person in a white-controlled world.
"This on-line discussion of books offers South Dakotans another way to
see the significance of viewing the world from a humanities vantage point," said Michael
Haug, SDHC Executive Director. The discussions on-line are also not hampered by inclement
weather or time scheduling limitations. Readers can read, think about the material and
then share their thinking with others reading the same book.
For more information on the Humanities Council, the Reading Series, or other grant-making opportunities, call the Council offices in Brookings at 605/688-6113 or write Box 7050, University Station, Brookings, SD 57007.