SF State Faculty Book Club
Open to all current and emeritae/i faculty, and sponsored by the Center for Teaching & Faculty Development.
2008 Book Club
The Battle of the Books and Other Short Pieces by Jonathan Swift
Read in Summer, Meet in Fall 2008
Faculty are invited to join the SF State faculty book club, organized by the Center for Teaching and Faculty Development. This summer's reading choice is "The Battle of The Books and other Short Pieces" by Jonathan Swift. The Battle of The Books is actually essays of Swift that was added to a longer satire of his called The Tale of the Tub. Battle is about a literal/satirical war that takes place in St. James Library between ancient and more modern texts. Swift wanted to point out how modern society/culture felt superior to what came before it. David Hellman, Collection Development Coordinator of our Library will lead us in Fall and tell us his thought about how this book illustrates nicely similar conflicts that happen in academia. A colloquium lunch will occur in the fall. Details on acquiring the book at a substantial discount and more information on the fall meeting will be posted soon to the CTFD website.
Same as last round of the Book Club, CTFD will provide copies of the book to the first 20 participants in the Faculty Book Club, so act now for your free books! To reserve your copy, please send an e-mail to . The plan is for us to "read in summer; meet in fall," so those who enroll in the Faculty Book Club will receive their book shortly, and an invitation to the discussion early in the fall semester.
2007 Book Club
Why Read? by Mark Edmundson
Read in Fall, Meet in Spring
For our first selection, we have chosen Mark Edmundson's Why Read? and hope to encourage your participation by this excerpt from the front cover flap: "Can great books change people's lives? In this important book, acclaimed author Mark Edmundson reconceives the value and the promise of reading. He dramatizes what the recent identity crisis in the humanities has effectively obscured: that reading can change your life for the better." This book is sure to provoke healthy and animated discussion!
CTFD will provide copies of the book to the first 20 participants in the Faculty Book Club, so act now for your free book! To reserve your copy of Why Read? please send an e-mail to . The plan is for us to "read in fall; meet in spring," so those who enroll in the Faculty Book Club will receive their book shortly, and an invitation to the inaugural discussion early in the spring semester. Professor Emerita Barbara McLauchlin (Classics) will be our facilitator, aided by CTFD's associate dean, Pamela Vaughn.
If you have a book recommendation, or if you would like to serve as facilitator for future sessions, please let us know! We look forward to your participation.