I.D.E.A. Book Club series to discuss Rhondda Thomas’ ‘Call My Name’

The I.D.E.A. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness) Book Club will meet virtually bi-weekly in February and March to discuss chapters from the book Call My Name, Clemson: Documenting the Black Experience in an American University Community by Rhondda Robinson Thomas.

The entire discussion series will be hosted from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

Here is the series schedule:

• Wednesday, February 3 (pages 1 – 77)
• Wednesday, February 17 (pages 78 – 128)
• Wednesday, March 3 (pages 129 – 176)
• Wednesday, March 17 (pages 177 – 220)
• Wednesday, March 31 (pages 221 – 256)

To learn more and RSVP, visit the I.D.E.A. book club page.

Thomas, the Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature in the Department of English, wrote the book as a result of her research into the complete history of Clemson, which documented the contributions of six generations of enslaved and free people at Clemson University and its land.

“The purpose of the book club is to raise awareness about the things that shape our world view and shape higher education without us necessarily realizing,” writes Interlibrary Loan Librarian Renna Redd, who co-founded the book club in 2019.

“Our world view has a tremendous impact on how we live our lives and conduct our work; we believe that Dr. Thomas’s book falls within this category as a text that will expand our awareness of the deep meaning and complexities connected to where we work, specifically.”

The book club is for faculty and staff and is co-sponsored by Clemson TIGERS Advance, the Clemson University Office of Inclusion and Equity and the Clemson University Libraries.