Burlington’s newest book club, the Mayor's Book Group, held its inaugural meeting last week at the University of Vermont.
The event, which was hosted by UVM’s Humanities Center the evening of Nov. 12, drew a diverse attendance of 50 people, including members of the public, UVM faculty and students.
The group’s first book was An Idea Whose Time Has Come, journalist Todd Purdum’s dramatic non-fiction account of the creation of U.S. Civil Rights Act. The meeting featured presentations by the mayor, Fletcher Free Library’s Rubi Simon and UVM professors David Jenemann (Film and Television Studies), Emily Bernard (English) and Alec Ewald (Political Science, Honors College), followed by a lively group discussion.
“The Mayor’s Book Group is an opportunity to explore thought-provoking ideas about civic life, culture, and history,” said Mayor Weinberger. “This exciting partnership between the city and UVM’s Humanities Center is a great opportunity to enhance the social and cultural fabric of Burlington by bringing together engaged citizens for lively, respectful dialogue about big ideas and the joy of reading.”
The Mayor’s Book Group, which will meet up to three times per year, is an example of how UVM’s Humanities Center is working to strengthen the university’s ties to the local community.
“UVM’s Humanities Center aims to build civic and intellectual communities by bringing people together to explore topics that impact today’s real-world issues,” said Center co-director David Jenemann, a professor of film and television studies. “We see the humanistic disciplines – with their skills in critical-thinking, historical perspective, persuasion, debate and ethics – as essential to that engagement.”
The Humanities Center, which was been reinvigorated under new leadership, is part of a global trend among universities seeking to celebrate the real-world impacts and achievements in the humanities, Center co-director Luis Vivanco said.
“We are committed to dispelling the misperception that the humanities and arts have somehow lost their relevance,” said Vivanco, a professor of Anthropology. “The truth is, we need the humanities now more than ever to explore the big and enduring questions and dilemmas that face us. These are exactly the types of issues we will continue to explore in the Mayor’s Book Group and future programs.”
The Center announced more than $25,000 in annual funding this year to create new multidisciplinary research teams in the humanities and fine arts. Learn more about UVM’s Humanities Center and the Mayor’s Book Club at www.uvm.edu/humanitiescenter.
About the UVM Humanities Center:
Founded in 1994, the UVM Humanities Center is a hub for more than 250 UVM faculty in the humanities and fine arts. It serves to connect scholars – in disciplines ranging from history, languages, religious studies and classics, to philosophy, linguistics, music, art, theatre, film and cultural anthropology – to new opportunities for collaboration and funding, including:
Lattie F. Coor Collaborative Fellowships: $25,000 per year to support the formation of multi-disciplinary cohorts of up to five UVM faculty members to examine issues of pressing concern in the humanities and fine arts. Each cohort will have one Organizing Fellow (funded with $2,500) and up to four Collaborative Fellows ($2,000 each). In addition, the group as a whole will be provided with $2,500 for collective activities. The deadline for 2014-15 applications is Nov. 20.
Cultivating Multi-Disciplinary Collegial Networks: $6,000 to facilitate collaboration among small groups of scholars (up to $750 per group) across the university interested in exploring common themes that connect their work.
