This book group will connect large-scale current events with historical patterns and transformations. Climate Change and Globalization (with a focus on China) are the two big topics we will consider. Both are world-changing phenomena that operate across borders and are having momentous impacts upon people and places all around the world. And both can be daunting to talk about with students, because of their scope, scale, and scariness. But a historical lens can help us think about effective and appropriate approaches to studying these big and messy contemporary issues.
Where in history can we find precedents or patterns of disruption and change that can help us understand what's happening today? What did the transformation of those social and cultural systems and patterns look like? How were natural resources and environments altered, and how did human societies adapt to large-scale changes?
This narrative carries us from Indonesia to the Upper Valley as it traces the global effects of the Mount Tambora eruption. It is as dexterous at explaining the science of climatology as it is at describing how New Englanders saw God's wrath in the summer snowstorms that froze their fields. What patterns do we see that provide insight for the present?
China has 130 million migrant workers and this narrative demonstrates how the mass movement from rural villages to cities is transforming Chinese society. The parallels of the movement from farm to factory that occurred in 19th-century New England are striking. We will look at these patterns of movement over time.
Location and Dates:
Hartford Middle School, Hartford VT
October 13, November 17, December 15, January 12
4:15 - 6:00 p.m.
If there is enough interest (and it is looking like there will be), we will offer a book group in the Chester area. Email Alan Berolzheimer at bercress@sover.net if you have interest in this 2nd location.
Registration Fee:
$250; includes books; limited scholarships available; graduate credit from Castleton State College will be available for an additional fee.
Register Here
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