Book Discussion Postponed until
TUESDAY, April 29th at 7pm

The fourth of our five-part discussion series led by UNH Professor Ethel Sara Wolper. The evening's discussion will be on Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf, translated by Peter Slugett.




From Sara:
Please read as much as you can of the first half and then skip to the Book of Rome (Chapter IV) and finish the book. I do not want people to stress out about finishing the whole book, but do want them to trace his journeys and changes through Rome.

Understanding Islam as a Faith; Going Beyond the Headlines
Professor Ali Asani

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 7pm

Harvard Professor Ali S. Asani is the director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard and Chair of the Near Eastern Language and Civilizations Department. He will highlight religions as more than just the words of their sacred texts; as living and breathing dynamic creations that evolve from cultural and social norms, the complex context in which they exist, and the many different people who practice them.

Professor Asani has been particularly active post 9/11 in improving the understanding of Islam and its role in Muslim societies by conducting workshops for high school and college educators as well as making presentations at various public forums. Internationally, he has been involved in the Islamic Cultural Studies Initiative, an international professional development program for high school teachers in Kenya, Pakistan and Texas intended to promote a culturally and historically based approach to the study of Islam and Muslim societies. Professor Asani has also served on the American Academy of Religion's Task Force on the teaching of religion in schools. More recently he was an adviser for the National Endowment of the Humanities Bridging Cultures Muslim Journeys Bookshelf project. In 2002, Professor Asani was awarded the Harvard Foundation medal for his outstanding contributions to improving intercultural and race relations. He holds a joint appointment in NELC and on the Committee for the Study of Religion. Professor Asani also serves on the faculty of the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies. In addition he has published numerous books and articles.

Susan Douglass to speak on Islam in the Media

Thursday March 13 at 7 PM

at Sanborn Regional High School

Susan Douglass is a doctoral candidate in world history at George Mason University, with an M.A. in Arab Studies from the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. At George Mason University's Ali Vurak Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies, she has served as Senior Research Associate and Grant Project Manager, working on the National Endowment for the Humanities Bridging Cultures/Muslim Journeys Bookshelf project with the American Library Association. Douglass will be discussing how the Muslim world is portrayed in the news media, and how terms such as jihad have become household words with no context. She will provide approaches to these difficult topics, and provide access and activities to help individuals engage critically with these issues.

Susan Douglass has conducted teacher workshops nationwide for over two decades and developed the education outreach program for the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, who is sponsoring this program. These workshops for educators, professional and civic groups have been held in over 50 cities in the US and Canada. She will be conducting a day long teacher development workshop for the teachers of Sanborn and throughout the seacoast the following day.

Pick up your copy today!

Thursday March 20, 2014 at 7:00 PM: Book Talk at the Kingston Community Library 
Pick up your copy today!
The third of our five-part discussion series led by UNH Professor Ethel Sara Wolper. The Evening's discussion will be on The Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal.

Some things to think about while you are reading:

Focus on pages 3-78, 101-157, 216-280.

For discussion, please consider how Menocal shows the role of Arabic and Arab culture in changing other languages and cultures in medieval Spain.

What are the limits of Menocal's vision of tolerance and symbiosis? Do you agree with her approach and her use of vignettes?

Why does this period stand out?

Film/Discussion—Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World at the Kingston Community Library

Join the Kingston Community Library for an epic journey across nine countries and over 1,400 years of history on Thursday January 23, 2014 at 2:00 PM as part of the Bridging Cultures: Understanding the Middle East & What it Means Today program series. Professors Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair will lead a film discussion on Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World. The program will touch on themes such as the Word, Space, Ornament, Color and Water, as well as the stories behind many great masterworks of Islamic Art and Architecture. Explore the richness of Islamic art in objects big and small, from palaces and monumental mosques to ceramics, paintings and metal work.

Professors Bloom and Blair received their doctorates in Islamic Art from Harvard University. They shared the Hamad bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Norma Jean Calderwood University Chair of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College. Together, they have written many books on the subject of Islamic Art.

Bridging Cultures: Understanding the Middle East & What it Means Today is a dynamic program series made possible by three generous grants, two from both the American Library Association and National Endowment for the Humanities and one from the New Hampshire Humanities Council.

Connected Histories

For more information about the Connected Histories theme, and the books that will be discussed in the Let's Talk About It! book discussions, you can visit the Muslim Journey's Bookshelf.

There are also links that you can click on to check out other themes that libraries around the country are discussing. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 7:00 PM: Book Talk* at the Kingston Community Library

The first of our five-part discussion series lead by UNH Professor Ethel Sara Wolper. The evening's discussion will be on When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the "Riches of the East" by Stewart Gordon. The Focus of the discussion will be on the introduction, chapters 3-6, 8, and 9.

Please think of these questions as you read the selections:

What is meant by "Asia" in this text? How does this term relate to the Middle East and to the Islamic world?

How does the designation "Asia" change the way we look at the Middle Ages?

What special skills and knowledge did people need to survive and thrive in this period?

What role did religion play in fostering social and commercial connections?

What allowed different groups to travel freely?

Click on this link to watch a video clip we will be discussing at the book talk. While the video goes on for a while, you only have to watch until 16:04.