On Writing: Tuesday Teas
History professor Leslie Brown developed her new book, African American Voices: A Documentary Reader from Emancipation to the Present, out of extensive conversations with Williams students about what primary source material to include.
Meanwhile, the seeds of political science professor Sam Crane’s latest book—Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life—sprung from years of personal essays and blogs.
And anthropology professor Antonia Foias’ Ancient Maya Political Dynamics grew from a chapter the publisher cut from another book she had edited.
In April the three professors discussed their books—and reflected on the process of writing and publishing—with students, faculty colleagues and community members in small, informal gatherings called Tuesday Teas.
Sponsored by the dean of the faculty’s office and hosted by the library, Tuesday Teas have taken place nearly every spring since the late 1990s. Next spring’s series will be held in the Forum area of the new library.
At Foias’ talk, the last of the three, she explained to the audience of 40 that her book was intended “to answer the question about what we know and what we don’t know about Maya political organization based on archeological evidence.” To that end she passed around a reproduction of a vase used for drinking chocolate and fielded questions about the role of women and the gods in Maya political processes.
“The intent of a liberal arts education is to connect ideas across disciplines,” says organizer Christine Ménard, head of research services and library outreach. “Libraries play an important role in that exchange.”