What we’re about
Calling all curious minds interested in exploring new perspectives and discussing literary classics or thought-provoking new ideas in non-fiction. Let's explore the thoughts of authors across time and geographical space. Books are introduced by questions just to get conversation rolling.
We'll meet during the week for dinner or on the weekend for coffee. Events will be planned in advance so that we all have time to read, and there will be polls to choose future books. Suggestions for books, restaurants, and cafes you would like to try are welcome.
Bring your appetite for reading and discussions in good company with good food, and I hope to welcome you in the coming months!
Instead of a list of various rules to remember, here's just one: There is zero tolerance for selfish, self-centered jerks who get confused by other people having a perspective different to theirs in practice (not in theory! In theory, even a jerk would agree people are different; it's just the practice of respecting those difference is hard because doing so is inconvenient and takes too much effort from the jerk). If you get asked to change a behavior that has negative affects, fix it.
Consider that we often do what is convenient, easy, and familiar to us, without considering the consequences of our behavior on others until confronted. So we don't act with bad intentions, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we do things with good intentions either.
Luckily, there is redemption for everyone, jerks included. But if you believe that the best response to counter automatically, without any reflection, with how the other person is so wrong to the point, so wrong that you'll use wildly incorrect generalizations or downright offensive counterarguments, then also strongly consider whether another group would fit your core values with less friction. Like strongly consider, and by that I mean just self-select and leave or be removed by the organizer. I'm not sure why you would want to stay in a group where the organizer or a fellow member think you've crossed a threshhold of acting selfishly and thoughtlessly enough that they must summon up the courage and directness to ask you to address the behavior.
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, 336 pages
Many of us have experienced, to some extent, the weight of expectations to carry on familial or cultural tradition or exhortations to do life as it "has always been done", despite wanting to forge a new path towards self actualization and self expression. Let's delve into these experiences through the tension of Asher Lev, a young Hasidic Jewish man growing up in Brooklyn who desires to become a painter of religious works. In his community, such depictions are seen as blasphemy and idolatry, grounds for exclusion.
*** Please sign up here https://www.mvhs.de/kurse/programme-in-english-460-C-U244680 ***
Author Chaim Potok (1929-2002) has said that Evelyn Waugh and James Joyce were his initial introductions to the world of writing, but critics compare his themes of alienation, meaning of suffering and literary style to that of Ernest Hemingway.
In an unpublished interview, Potok says, ''It was essentially a fundamentalist atmosphere, which by definition is both joyous and oppressive simultaneously. Joyous in the sense of knowing you belong to some cohesive community that will care for you; in whose celebrations you can participate fully; and who will help you mourn if you need a support group in time of personal tragedy. And repressive because it sets boundaries, and if you step outside the boundaries, the whole community lets you know.'' from his New York Times obituary https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/books/chaim-potok-73-dies-novelist-illumined-the-world-of-hasidic-judaism.html
Upcoming events (4)
See all- Tetlock and Gardner: Can forecasting the future be taught?Needs location
Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner, Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
352 pages (although consider that some of those pages comprise the bibliography, appendix, and notes)Excerpt from Amazon:
"Everyone would benefit from seeing further into the future, whether buying stocks, crafting policy, launching a new product, or simply planning the week’s meals. Unfortunately, people tend to be terrible forecasters. As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed in a landmark 2005 study, even experts’ predictions are only slightly better than chance. However, an important and underreported conclusion of that study was that some experts do have real foresight, and Tetlock has spent the past decade trying to figure out why. What makes some people so good? And can this talent be taught?"During the discussion, we'll use what we learned from the book to participate in the Good Judgement Open and The Economist: The World Ahead 2025 challenge! Please read the entire book though, and know that this discussion is about the book, NOT geopolitical or world events per se. https://www.gjopen.com/challenges/108-the-economist-the-world-ahead-2025
- MVHS bookclub: how to balance familial expectations and self-actualization?Münchner Volkshochschule Ost (MVHS Ost) Ramersdorf, Munich
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, 336 pages
Many of us have experienced, to some extent, the weight of expectations to carry on familial or cultural tradition or exhortations to do life as it "has always been done", despite wanting to forge a new path towards self actualization and self expression. Let's delve into these experiences through the tension of Asher Lev, a young Hasidic Jewish man growing up in Brooklyn who desires to become a painter of religious works. In his community, such depictions are seen as blasphemy and idolatry, grounds for exclusion.
*** Please sign up here https://www.mvhs.de/kurse/programme-in-english-460-C-U244680 ***Author Chaim Potok (1929-2002) has said that Evelyn Waugh and James Joyce were his initial introductions to the world of writing, but critics compare his themes of alienation, meaning of suffering and literary style to that of Ernest Hemingway.
In an unpublished interview, Potok says, ''It was essentially a fundamentalist atmosphere, which by definition is both joyous and oppressive simultaneously. Joyous in the sense of knowing you belong to some cohesive community that will care for you; in whose celebrations you can participate fully; and who will help you mourn if you need a support group in time of personal tragedy. And repressive because it sets boundaries, and if you step outside the boundaries, the whole community lets you know.'' from his New York Times obituary https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/books/chaim-potok-73-dies-novelist-illumined-the-world-of-hasidic-judaism.html
