As we transition from our academic year to summer, we are looking forward to getting some space and time for catching up on bigger-picture thinking and reflection about community work, nonprofit organizations, social enterprise, and civil society. The opportunity to step back and look at the sector and its role more broadly is especially important in the context of multiple crises of our times.
In the spirit of reflecting on the sector broadly in this way, and doing so alongside the many thought leaders in our network, we’d like to invite you to join us for our first ever special summer “book club.” CommNS will be hosting weekly online gatherings on Mondays from 4:30-6:00 pm, starting on Monday, June 27th, and running through Monday, August 29th, with a break the week of July 4th. You’re welcome to join us every week, or whenever your schedule allows. Bring a beverage and come ready to talk about that weeks’ text and its relevance to your work.
At the end of our book club, we’ll ask each participant to share a “personal manifesto” that articulates your personal beliefs, values and theory of change regarding your work in the sector, taking into account the broad survey of knowledge you’ll gain from our time together.
You can view our draft syllabus here. Each text will tackle some element of the sector be it philanthropy, volunteering, social enterprises, and organizing by addressing critical challenges and solutions. We’ll be reading books such as “In Defense of Philanthropy,” “Decolonizing Wealth” and “Mutual aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next).” We’ll also be engaging participants in (voluntary) rotating facilitation roles.
If you’re interested in joining us, please email Laura Evans (levans4@wisc.edu) with the subject: “CommNS Summer Book Club” by June 13, 2022. There is no cost to join, outside of the books. If you’re a UW-Madison Student (undergraduate or graduate) and would like to receive credit for participating, please indicate that in your email to Laura.
Please share with your networks. We look forward to having many of you join us for this co-learning experience.