Our book club consists of graduate students, community members, friends, partners, and parents; all of whom have a common interest in interrogating the social structures produced by our colonial history and the resulting consequences on our collective well-being.
The Anti-Colonialism Collective (ACC) Book Club is a virtual initiative with bicoastal support. Thanks to our gracious co-sponsors at the Center for Anti-racism, Social Justice, and Public Health at the NYU School of Global Public Health and the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice and Health at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, our book club has been nurturing rebellious reading in public health since the Spring of 2021.
Our book club meets on the last Tuesday of every month to discuss a text related to our book club theme: Anti-Colonialism. To join the conversation and challenge the status quo, fill out our interest form.
“Today, around four million people live in [...] unincorporated territories - people who have no representation in Congress, who cannot vote for president, and whose rights and citizenship remain a gift from Washington”
REP.CLUB: The Official ACC Bookshop
The ACC is proud to partner with REP.CLUB, a Black-owned, Woman-owned, local independent book shop in Los Angeles, California. As our official book shop, REP.CLUB will always have ACC Book Club titles available online. Additionally, ACC Book Club members receive a special discount. Email gph.acc@nyu.edu for more information.
ACC Reading Lists
The full list of readings from our inaugural year, April 2021 - April 2022, is available HERE.
ACC Book Club Format
There are numerous models for approaching book club administration and organization. As a result, book clubs take many different shapes and forms. Here's what to expect from our book club:
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Open Book Club - This means our book club is ALWAYS open to incorporating new members. All new members will be asked to complete the interest form and agree to our guiding principles.
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Facilitated Discussions - Every month, our meetings will be guided by a facilitator. Any member of the book club can volunteer to facilitate.
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Democratic Book Selection - Book suggestions that align with the book club theme of Anti-Colonialism are always welcome from book club members. These texts are put up to a quarterly vote during book club meetings.
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Common Theme, Mixed Genres - While we do have a common theme driving our book selection, we are not restricted to a particular genre. This is a space to be imaginative - fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or biographies can all relate back to the theme of Anti-Colonialism.
Land Acknowledgement
The Center for Anti-racism, Social Justice, and Public Health (CASJPH) within the School of Global Public Health at New York University is located in ancestral Lenape homelands. This statement is intended to acknowledge the longstanding significance of these lands for Lenape nations and work against the historical erasure of indigenous peoples in New York City and the United States. At CASJPH, we are conscious of our duty to promote health equity throughout the local community and recognize that New York City has the largest urban Native population in the United States. We also acknowledge that this statement is a work in progress. While acknowledging our positionality as settler-colonialists is a first step, it is not sufficient. We are consistently striving to move past performative gestures towards action.
Questions? Email the ACC Book Club Coordinator at gph.acc@nyu.edu.