The Open Minds Book Club invites thoughtful participation from GVSU students, faculty and staff, Hauenstein Center members, and community members. Kahler Sweeney, program manager of the Common Ground Initiative, and Brian Bowdle, associate professor of psychology, will host discussions on books that seek to understand and serve the needs of our democratic society.
The Open Minds Book Club will start back up in the fall of 2024! Be the first to know about book titles & registration by signing up for our mailing list!
Past Titles
Wednesday, April 4, 2024: Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
Wednesday, February 21, 2024: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.
Wednesday, January 24, 2024: Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation by Roosevelt Montás.
Wednesday, November 29, 2023 - The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America by Hyrum Lewis and Verlan Lewis.
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 - Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec.
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 - How to Educate a Citizen: The Power of Shared Knowledge to Unify a Nation by E.D. Hirsch Jr.
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
Wednesday, March 1, 2023: This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution, by David Sloan Wilson
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 - The White Mosque by Sofia Samatar
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 - War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 - Liberalism and its Discontents, by Francis Fukuyama
Thursday, April 14, 2022 — Suspicious Minds by Robert Brotherton
Wednesday, January 27, 2022 — No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
Wednesday, September 8, 2021 — Mistrust: Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them by Ethan Zuckerman
Thursday, June 24, 2021 — Self Portrait in Black and White by Thomas Chatterton Williams
Friday, March 12, 2021 — Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech by Keith E. Whittington
Goals of the Open Minds Book Club
Initiating the kinds of conversations necessary for fostering an informed citizenry and wise leadership
Bridging cultural, ideological, and generational divides through civil discourse
Growing a shared sense of belonging in our West Michigan community