Features
Conversing and communing with Cardinal Reads
Cardinal Reads kicked-off the fall 2018 semester last Tuesday with their first roundtable discussion of the book “Tribe” by Sebastian Junger, perpetuating this year’s theme and campus-wide dialogue of cultural identity.
Coffee, desserts, and conversation flowed as students and faculty discussed the importance of community and what it means to belong.
“Tribe” uses metaphors of American Indian societies, crisis-stricken civilizations, and the shared platoons of men in the army to explain the sociological benefits of imbedding ourselves into a group, and feeling as though we can rely on others as they can rely on us.
The discussion at Tuesday’s roundtable focused on the first few chapters of the book, in which Junger talks about the tribal ways of American Indian culture and how their means of sharing wealth and overall conformity of the people is ideal in creating a peaceful, happy community.
Dr. Victor Begay, an American Indian Studies instructor at NIC, was the main speaker at the Cardinal Reads event. Begay said “I enjoyed the premise of the text, which one of the central themes was belonging. I love that idea. I love the notion of it, but part of my challenges were the examples and metaphors the author used to get to that point.”
Dr. Victor Begay addresses “Tribe’s” central themes of belonging.
His ideas evoked conversation which circled around this provocative and idealized depiction of American Indian culture. Nevertheless, there was communal agreement in the discussion that Junger’s central message about belonging is a vital aspect of the human experience.
Brian Seguin, the Collection Development librarian at NIC, who helped put together the whole event, posed the question, “When you come to a new place, how do you create community for yourself?”
The objective of having a Common Read is to foster discussion and critical thinking, and the roundtable events are a place for people in the community to come together and explore a resonating theme.
“If everybody is reading this book you can get together and you can talk about it, get to know each other, share ideas- you’re not always going to share the same ideas, but in that process you all get to know each other and hopefully create a community,” Seguin said about the program.
The next roundtable discussion of the Common Reads book “Tribe” is set to meet on Oct. 10. It will focus on the troubles veterans of war face when trying to assimilate back into society after returning to a disjointed environment which struggles to find a sense of community.
