Gutenberg Conspiracy

The Gutenberg Conspiracy is a (usually) monthly gathering, open to all, of people interested in reading books and discussing them with others. It has no official standing, having arisen strictly out of faculty interest in reading something other than what was required for class preparation, but it has become part of the school’s intellectual fabric and is often supported more faithfully by staff than by faculty.

Gutenberg participants suggest books they’ve read or want to read; the facilitator compiles and circulates a slate, tallies the votes, and announces the winners (usually) before summer begins. The facilitator also persuades various people to lead each book discussion. Some participants consistently read the books during the summer; others consistently read each book (or a portion thereof) immediately before the discussion; still others treat meetings as book review sessions to determine whether or not to read the volume. The chosen books have spanned genres in fiction and non-fiction, but have always been prose. Never has a theme governed any given year’s reading.

In addition to choosing books, the group each year (well, most years) asks one person (usually faculty) to give a "Last Lecture," and offers carte blanche to the deliverer. Sometimes, but not always, the vote goes to someone retiring or leaving as if it were indeed a final lecture. This tradition revived an earlier one originated by the Student Senate.

The Gutenberg Conspiracy originated in 1973 at English professor Jane Elizabeth “Missy” Archer’s call, beginning that spring by reading Islands in the Stream, The Painted Bird, and End of the Road. When Archer departed at year’s end, the idea languished. In the late 1980s, Psychology professor Randall Wight revived the custom. In 1998, when Wight became CORE Dean, he passed leadership to Music professor Edwina Thedford. At her retirement in 2005, Thedford delegated leadership to Political Science professor Susan Zlomke. Zlomke left in 2007, having designated Archivist Wendy Richter as successor. Richter left before exercising office; Circulation Librarian Shirley Dumais picked up the fallen mantle and coordinated the program until 2010, when historian Chris Mortenson assumed leadership.

2023-24

August 23
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Johnny Wink)

September 27
All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore (Ray Granade)

October 25
Culture Care: Reconnecting with Common Beauty for Our Common Life by Makoto Fujimura (Donnie Copeland and Rebecca Jones)

January 24
Religious Freedom in a Secular Age: A Christian Case for Liberty, Equality, and Secular Government by Michael F. Bird (Jeremy Greer)

February 28
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (Raouf Halaby)

March 27
Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future by Jean M. Twenge (Bryan McKinney and Kent Faught)

2022-23

Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspriracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything by Kelly Weill (Ben Utter)

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (Sara Hubbard)

People to be Loved: Why Homosexuality is Not Just an Issue by Preston Sprinkle (Jeremy Greer)

Don't Know Tough by Eli Cranor (Johnny Wink and Eli Cranor)

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (Jeremy Greer)

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Guide by Art Spiegelman (Ray Granade)