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Award-winning author Chitra Divakaruni will speak at Central College on Sept. 25. (Photo by Krishna Giri)
by Rachel Bing ’15
Central College will host award-winning author Chitra Divakaruni Sept. 24-26. Divakaruni’s keynote address, “My Amazing Journey,” is open to the public at 11 a.m. on Sept. 25 in Douwstra Auditorium. She will share about her journey from India to the United States, her road to becoming a writer and her process for writing the novel “One Amazing Thing.” Divakaruni, a professor of creative writing at the University of Houston, will also read from her latest novel, “Oleander Girl,” as part of Central’s Writers Reading Series at 7:30 p.m. in the Cox-Snow Music Center Recital Hall.
Joshua Dolezal, associate professor of English, said Divakaruni’s visit is an important way to engage the Central College community in responding to “One Amazing Thing,” the common reading selection for this year. “The goal is to select a rich text that can be approached from many disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives,” Dolezal said. “The teach-in helps us extend discussions of the common reading to the larger campus community.”
Also on Sept. 25, guests are invited to hear Rod Camp present on Mexico’s political transformation from authoritarianism to democracy. Camp, who formerly taught at Central, is an elected member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a frequent consultant to national and international media. He will speak at 2:15 p.m. in the Cox-Snow Music Center Recital Hall.
A complete listing of Central College’s Sept. 23–26 events planned around the theme of global citizenship is below:
Tuesday, Sept. 23
6:30 p.m. – International film series: Omar, Oscar Reynaga, van Emmerik Theater
Wednesday, Sept. 24
11 a.m. –1 p.m. – Indian cuisine, Central Market
11 a.m. – One Amazing Lab: Surviving an Earthquake through Chemistry, Jay Wackerly, Vermeer Science Center 263
11 a.m. – Judging the Book by its Cover, Mathew Kelly, Lubbers 126
11 a.m. – Refugees in Iowa, Samuel Mate-Kodjo, Brian Peterson, van Emmerik Theater
12 p.m. – Breaking the Box: International Students and Global Citizenship, Paulina Mena and Kat De Penning, Roe Center 345
12 p.m. – Speaking the Language of Global Citizenship, Kathy Korcheck, Roe Center 130
Thursday, Sept. 25
11 a.m. – Keynote: “My Amazing Journey,” Chitra Divakaruni, Douwstra Auditorium
2:15 p.m. – From Authoritarianism to Democracy: Mexico’s Transformation Rod Camp, Cox-Snow Recital Hall
7:30 p.m. – Writers Reading: Oleander Girl, Chitra Divakaruni, Cox-Snow Recital Hall
Friday, Sept. 26
11 a.m. – Peace Corps: Global Citizenship Through International Service, Shawn Wick, Kim Koza, Michael Harris, Moore Conference Room, Maytag
11 a.m. – Intercultural Bridge Building, Blaire Modic, Sutphen Room – Graham Annex
11 a.m. – From India to Pella, Lori Witt, Cox-Snow Recital Hall
11 a.m. – CultureAll: We’re All in this Together, Jess Schuring, Leslie Duinink, Central Hall 308
12 p.m. – CultureAll: We’re All in this Together, Sue Pagnac, Central Hall 308
7:30 p.m. – Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans, Mitch Lutch, Cox-Snow Recital Hall
