Virtual Grants GRANTS VIRTUAL BOOKCLUB Virtual programming built around books sees early success Book clubs are hardly a new phenomenon. Their beginnings can be traced back to the days of Socrates and Pythagoras. They have given rise to intellectual and critical thinking discussions throughout time. But as online opportunities of the modern world have grown over the past decades, and a pandemic thrust humanities programs into virtual strategies, Alabama Humanities Foundation discovered a new way to expand its reach and elevate conversations around books. On June 1, it launched AHF’s Virtual Book Club, a Zoom video conferencing version of that age-old practice of reading, engaging discussions, critical analysis and understanding. “Part of the shift of programming to a virtual format included opportunities for individuals to connect,” explained AHF Programs Director Melanie Bouyer. “We could be physically distanced but not socially distanced from each other.” The first book in line for the new format was best-selling 2011 book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America, facilitated by Kevin Lee, award-winning journalist and Arts editor for Mobile newspaper, Lagniappe. “My goals for the book club were to affect the participant’s views of American history, to see it as less a string of dates and more ‘cause and effect,’ as coalesced motivations shaped by cultural forces of particular times,” Lee said. “I also hoped participants would gain a better understanding of the origins of contemporary fractures in American governance and society in hopes they could use that information to make better decisions and work toward mending the ills that plague our system of self-governance.” Bouyer pointed out that the virtual format not only expanded
The inaugural Virtual Book Club focused on American Nations with a surprise talk by author Colin Woodard.
Kevin Lee, author and Arts editor for Mobile-based Lagniappe newspaper, facilitated lively discussion.
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Mosaic | Fall 2020 | alabamahumanities.org
