The Free World – An Open Conversation

Join us for our 2nd Culture Club conversation on The Free World by Louis Menand at New World Tampa.

We'll focus on chapters 6-10, but reading is not required. Everyone is equally welcome. If you haven’t read the book, we invite you to look over the list of names and themes below for helpful context.

Key Names:

• The Beatles
• Allen Ginsberg
• Claude Lévi-Strauss
• John Cage
• Isaiah Berlin

Themes:

• How we are shaped by relationships, systems, and patterns (The Human Sciences and Structuralism)
• Avant‑garde artists vs tradition, intellectual gatekeepers vs the counterculture.
• Think about how breaking patterns can be creative or disruptive.
• How did music, especially rock/pop, shape ideas of freedom and identity during the Cold War?
• What does “freedom” actually mean? Is freedom about what you’re free from (interference, oppression) or what you’re free to do (express yourself, pursue happiness)? How does culture shape our ideas of freedom?

Bonus: A relaxed bar venue with a variety of food options. Live music begins at 5pm at New World Tampa if you’d like to stay afterward (not part of the book club)