The Oklahoma Humanities book discussion series, Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma began Sept. 4 with a new theme for the year, “Living With Limits.”
Dr. Harbour Winn, professor emeritus of English and film, developed this year’s theme for Oklahoma Humanities. “Living With Limits” focuses obstacles people face such as racial barriers, socioeconomic status and coming to terms with mortality.
Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma consists of four to five sessions, each focusing on a different book with an accompanying presentation by a humanities scholar. For the program, Oklahoma Humanities provides a planning guide, a directory of participating scholars, a grant to cover program costs, multiple copies of books, and educational essays to provide context for the theme.
Dr. Lisa Wolfe, professor and endowed chair of Hebrew Bible, led the presentation on the first book at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 in Room 151 in Walker Center for Arts and Sciences.
“I am just presenting on the first book, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, who was a young neurosurgeon diagnosed with lung cancer,” Wolfe said. “Odd as it seems, the book presents the opportunity for us all to consider our mortality, which is, if nothing else, a crucial spiritual practice. This book inspires gratitude for the ordinary gifts all around us and helps us see what a luxury it is when we can take for granted everyday things like poetry, baby snuggles or even a good bagel sandwich.”
An OCU professor will lead each discussion. The books in this series are:
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
- Jump and Other Stories by Nadine Gordimer, and
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Madelyn Parker, English/Spanish senior, said she sees how Slaughterhouse-Five would fit perfectly into the theme of “Living With Limits.”
“The whole idea behind it is this PTSD that this man deals with after having fought in World War II, and a disconnect from the world around him,” Parker said. “So being limited in your ability to communicate with people is probably what they were trying to get at. That would make a lot of sense if you think about it from that angle.”
Future discussions will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 18, Oct. 9, Oct. 23, and Nov. 6 Room 151 in Walker Center for Arts and Sciences.
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