ALLENDALE, MICH.--When Grand Valley State University English professors Rob Franciosi and Dan Royor started an online book club last November, it was a response to a call for more interaction with the community. In February, their WebBook of the Month site will play a role in the community's recognition of Black History Month.
The online book club will discuss Middle Passage by Charles Johnson. The novel is about a freed slave who stows away on a ship to return to Africa, and discovers that he is aboard a slave ship. GVSU English Professor Veta Tucker, who coordinates the African/African-American Studies Program, will lead the discussion, which begins February 1. Tucker will also discuss the book February 18 live on the WGVU Morning Show with Eddie Rucker.
The WebBook of the Month can be found at www4.gvsu.edu/books
For Black History Month, the online book club can provide context for talking about black history with a focus, says Franciosi, gesturing at the online book on his computer while surrounded by floor-to-ceiling shelves of books in his Lake Superior Hall office. You've got a novel that people have read to discuss instead of talking in general about black history. The other thing you can gain is a sense of history. The book engages readers in a way that is both interesting and accurate.
Franciosi and his colleague Dan Royor, who is the site designer, develop related content for each month's book. So for the February discussion of Middle Passage, there are links to sites about Amistad, the story of a slave ship recently made famous by a Hollywood film. They admit that the possible online links can influence the books they choose. But Franciosi says it's important to provide some context that the average reader would not have.
At an English Department retreat the dean stressed that we get involved in more community based activities, says Franciosi. That's easy if you are a business consultant or an engineering professor helping some local company with a project. But in the humanities, especially English, that's harder. The general idea is that people who might want to be involved in a book club but can't get out or are too busy might be interested in an online version.
The WebBook of the Month site has evolved since Franciosi and Royer first developed it last fall. Each month they choose a book that has some local connection. In March they will feature a book appropriate for Women's History Month. In January Franciosi led a discussion of Ragtime in anticipation of a performance of the musical in Lansing.
Franciosi says what started as an effort to get English faculty members to think beyond the classroom has come full cycle. He now uses the online book discussion as a model for the courses he teaches on various books.
For Black History Month, Franciosi and Tucker are confident they will be able to educate a lot of community members, even if they don't participate in the discussion. The professors counted 350 hits on the site in January, even though there were not nearly so many comments submitted about the featured book.
There may be some people reluctant to participate in the discussion online, Franciosi says. We're looking to supplement the Web site with a monthly face-to-face meeting down the road.
