Book Discussion: Uncle Tom’s Cabin on ZOOM

Uncle Tom’s Cabin is simultaneously one of the country’s most important and most controversial novels of all time.  Have you ever read it?  Did you know that it has a subtitle, “Life Among the Lowly” and that it was published as a serial in an abolitionist newspaper (this meant that the story was slowly released over more than three dozen parts)?  Join Executive Director Carolyn Venne in a discussion of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, exploring how and why an anti-slavery novel is so disputed for its racial stereotypes.  

This examination of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is meant to be a two-part discussion series, book-ending (pun intended) a group visit to the Stowe Center for Literary Activism (formerly known as the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center) in Hartford. 

The first discussion, on Wednesday, March 12 at 7pm, will take place on Zoom, when we will likely review the basics of the 1852 novel; its overall story, language, themes and historical context of slavery in New England at the time. 

On March 22 we will visit the Stowe Center for a tour and guided discussion about “the history of enslavement and racism in a conversational format, inviting and encouraging visitors to make connections between inequities then and now.”  

The second discussion will be on Wednesday, April 2 at 7pm, in-person at Wood Memorial Library.

Join us just one or all three parts of this series.  Skim the novel only or just come to listen in, it’s up to you!  

This will be Carolyn’s first read of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and she welcomes suggestions about how to discuss this fascinating piece of American history.  If you are looking to order a hard copy to read, this is the one that Carolyn ordered online.  

Pre-registration via the short form below is encouraged so we may plan accordingly.