Using literature, both classic and current, we will explore cultures, geography and wanderlust through the ages. From travel across the United States with Steinbeck’s legendary Travels with Charley in 1961, to investigations on where the happiest people in the world reside, our monthly book based discussions will connect us to global culture and place and our own community.

This series will explore the changing traditions of transnational womxnhood through fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and video selections that focus on examining how future possibilities flow from past histories, stories, bodies, and experiences.

What does it mean to be an American in the 21st century? What does a model American do, and what responsibilities do Americans have to their communities and each other?
This workshop series will explore these questions and more through the lens of Ralph Ellison’s writings, group discussion and community art-making.
Join us for this free program on any of the above dates.

Readings and location will be announced 2 weeks before each workshop, on these platforms: Private FB group “Ellison Saratoga”, CREATE Community Studios website, SEEN/MLK Newsletter

America was the hard fought dream for Europeans who fled poverty and persecution. As America grew and became cosmopolitan and industrial in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, some returned to Europe searching for adventure, artistic license and inspiration, freedom from persecution and discrimination, and a role in fighting the spread of fascism. The texts we have chosen illustrate this theme.

September 21, 2021 6:30 – 8:00 pm discussion of the book, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough
October 12, 2021 6:30 – 8:00 pm discussion of the book, In The Garden of the Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson
November 8, 2021 6:30 – 8:00 pm discussion of the book, The Odyssey of the American Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War by Peter Carroll
December 14, 2021 6:30 – 8:00 discussion of the book, Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light by Tyler Stovall

This discussion series will use novels set in India when it was under British rule. The chosen books will highlight British and Indian locations and characters. They are unified by how the characters and cultures intersect during this period in history. Readers will examine the merits (and shortfalls) of each novel. These books are sure to spark lively discussions about colonialism and racism.

This discussion series will use novels (by British writers) set in India when it was under British rule as a starting point to discuss why certain books are memorable with readers by examining the merits (and shortfalls) of each novel. These books highlight both British and Indian locations and characters.