HSU Book of the Year

This ten day series of events is held annually on the HSU Campus in early November.  The Campus Dialogue on Race is an annual event at Humboldt State University that invites students, staff, faculty, administrators and community members to present and attend programs that relate to racial justice and its intersections with other forms of oppression. Our objective is to create spaces and structures for reflection, analysis and dialogue. This year’s Dialogue will run from October 31 to November 7, 2008.  Nalo Hopkinson’s presentation is a part of this extensive effort. Please consult the Dialogue schedule of events for more information on the many interesting presentations and activities.

A Celebration of the 2008-09 CR/HSU Book of the Year will be held in the HSU Library Lobby on November 6, 2008 at 7-9 PM.  Award-winning author Nalo Hopkinson will discuss Octavia Butler’s work, why it is important, and Black and other non-traditional voices in the literatures of science fiction and fantasy.  She will also read from and comment on her own work, and participate in a Question and Answer session.  A book-signing will be managed by the HSU Bookstore, and the Library will serve refreshments.  All are welcome!

Ms. Hopkinson’s appearance is being sponsored by Campus Dialogue on Race, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Student Affairs, the HSU Library and the HSU Bookstore.  for more information, see the event flyer.

Need 1 more unit?  Love to read and talk about books?  Register for CRN #43725  and join campus book lovers to read the HSU/CR choice for Book of the Year in a Book Club format.  You will participate in small discussion groups, presentations, special events, FESCUE 2008, and the Fall, 2008 Dialogue on Race.  Attend mandatory initial class meeting on either Wed., Aug 27 or Thurs., Aug 28 from 6-8 PM in FH 235.  Additional meetings to be arranged.  If you have questions, email Erin Sullivan at ems6@humboldt.edu.

Humboldt State University and the College of the Redwoods have chosen Octavia Butler’s futuristic Parable of the Sower for common reading and discussion. Themes of dystopia/utopia, social and economic problems, climate change, and heroic journey combine in this rich novel. From Barnes & Noble:

“The time is 2025. The place is California, where small walled communities must protect themselves from hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of ‘Paints,’ people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn, rape and murder. When one small community is overrun, Lauren Olamina, an 18 year old black woman, sets off on foot, moving north along the dangerous coastal highways. She is a ‘sharer,’ one who suffers from a hereditary trait called ‘hyperempathy,’ which causes her to feel others’ pain as well as her own. Parable of the Sower is both a coming of age novel and a road novel, set in the near future, when the dying embers of our old civilization can either cool or be the catalyst for something new.”

From the Times-Standard, March 28, 2008 -

HSU and CR Pick “Book of the Year”