By Joshua Carpenter '24
Houghton has become home to two new communities this semester, both of which are book clubs. One is led by Brian Webb, the Director of the Center for Sustainability, and the other by Nuk Oden, the Director of the Mosaic Center. In each club, students discuss some of the world’s most controversial problems, such as biodiversity loss and racism.
In Webb’s book club, members are finishing up Houghton College Professor Dr. Eli Knapp’s new book, Dead Serious: Wild Hope Amid the Sixth Extinction. Their last meeting was supposed to be at Knapp’s house on October 25th, but it was “indefinitely post poned,” as Webb wrote. To provide a glimpse of Knapp as a storyteller, Webb described: “In his typically witty and engaging style, Dr. Knapp uses stories and personal reflections to unpack one of the greatest challenges facing the planet – the rapid loss of
biodiversity in the world today. His stories infuse nuggets of hope amid a difficult challenge.” Webb also mentioned what he wants students to take away from the book club, saying “We [Webb and the Center
for Sustainability] hope students will learn to appreciate and value God’s creation by learning about the threats we are causing to the natural world and by being inspired by success stories of animals who have persevered despite the odds being against them.”
Anna Zimmerman (’23), a member of Webb’s book club, told the STAR that “It’s been such a great learning experience to be able to have Eli Knapp with us to go through the topics of the book. He has a wealth of knowledge, and to be able to hear his thought process has helped us each grow more in-depth with our knowledge in the subject.” She also gave a comment on the planned location for their final meeting, writing “Houghton is known for its tight-knit community, which I think is shown in no better way than being invited into a professor’s home and being able to connect with them in that way.”
Though Webb’s book club is ending soon, there is still an opportunity for staff, faculty, and students to
get involved with a book club. Oden’s book club, which runs until November 30th, gathers on a weekly basis (Tuesdays from 7-8pm) in the Library Chamberlain Room to discuss readings from various authors of color. Some of these authors include Trevor Noah, Resmaa Menekem, and Melissa Guida-Richards. Be it a chapter, poem, or essay, each week features a different reading, with members able to come and go as they please. Of course, students will certainly also benefit from attending every session. As the book club’s sign-up sheet mentions, members “…will receive up to three “Around the Table” discussion credits for each discussion you attend, and you do not have to commit to coming every week”.
Being a member of Oden’s book club as well, Zimmerman shared her thoughts on it with the STAR, saying that “the Mosaic Center book clubs that we’ve been doing have created a space where we can come and talk about things that are difficult, but so very important… The texts have been ones that are
challenging to the reader, which has made the conversations that we’ve had that much more meaningful.”
For anyone who would like to reach out to the Center for Sustainability to potentially involve themselves in the last meeting of their book club, you can get in touch with brian.webb-@houghton.edu. If you would like to attend a meeting for the Mosaic Center’s book club, definitely send an email to nuk.kongkaw@houghton.edu.★
