{"id":3614,"date":"2017-10-08T13:21:53","date_gmt":"2017-10-08T17:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=3614"},"modified":"2017-10-08T13:21:53","modified_gmt":"2017-10-08T17:21:53","slug":"pulitzer-prize-winning-novelist-colson-whitehead-speaks-at-centre-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2017\/10\/08\/pulitzer-prize-winning-novelist-colson-whitehead-speaks-at-centre-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Pulitzer-Prize Winning Novelist Colson Whitehead Speaks at Centre College"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY ROOP PATEL – STAFF WRITER<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Renowned author Colson Whitehead delivered a convocation on October 2nd<\/sup> to discuss his award-winning sixth novel, The Underground Railroad.<\/em> This year the First-Year Book Committee, comprised of six Centre College faculty, chose The Underground Railroad<\/em> for the New Student Book Discussion.<\/p>\n

The novel follows Cora\u2014a young slave on a cotton plantation\u2014to depict the brutality of slavery and the horrors for the African American population preceding the Civil War. He illustrates the plantation as a cruel and callous murderer from which Cora escapes. Upon fleeing, Cora embarks on a journey and Colson Whitehead employs an actual railroad rather than a metaphorical one. Each state holds new challenges for Cora and no place proves to be perfectly idyllic. In the end, the railroad continues to chug through the nation as Cora attempts to find freedom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>First-year students all read and discussed The Underground Railroad <\/em>amongst themselves and with their academic advisors. Students River Fuchs and Melody Roth pointed out the questions of morality and justice in the novel. \u201cInjustice arises from misunderstanding,\u201d Fuchs said. \u201csubjectivity of history is a problem,\u201d Roth said. \u201cThe fact that the book was left very open ended signifies the fact that her story is yet to be completed.\u201d \u201cWe can\u2019t be happy and just move on,\u201d Professor of Biology and member of the First-Year Book Committee Peggy Richie said of the end of the novel.<\/p>\n

Fuchs and Dr. John Harney, Assistant Professor of History and First-Year Book Committee Chair, commented on the implications of \u201cThe Underground Railroad\u201d in the present. \u201cIn today\u2019s world, people don\u2019t really want to talk to each other\u2014 they want to shout at each other,\u201d Harney said. \u201cMore people need to be cognizant of the brutality of slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n

First-year students Meg Whelan, River Fuchs, and Melody Roth shared the parts of the novel that most engaged them. \u201c[The] historical allusions were the most gripping part for me,\u201d Fuchs said. \u201c[The novel] deeply broadened my cultural horizons.\u201d For Whelan, it was the use of \u201cthe freedom road as a physical embodiment of oppression\u201d. \u201cThe scientist trying to make medical advancements and committing progressive oppression\u201d clung to Roth the most.<\/p>\n

Professors on the First-Year Book Committee shared the criteria they used in choosing The Underground Railroad<\/em>. \u201cThe novel was shocking and engrossing,\u201d Dr. Richey said. \u201cIt causes students to think\u2026[and] creates engaged conversation.\u201d A chief reason for Dr. Harney was how \u201cthe book contextualized and drew parallels to now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student Meg Whelan said \u201cthe book was chosen because Centre wants to establish a liberal arts root and expose us to new ideas. We read a hybrid of history and fiction which spans the liberal arts spectrum.\u201d Harney said he \u201clooked for what kind of conversations it would create\u201d and how \u201cthe book allows you to think without telling you what to think.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all, The Underground Railroad<\/em> dealt with the brutality of slavery and the injustice of a past era \u2013 but the novel still speaks volumes on today\u2019s society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ROOP PATEL – STAFF WRITER Renowned author Colson Whitehead delivered a convocation on October 2nd to discuss his award-winning sixth novel, The Underground Railroad. This year the First-Year Book Committee, comprised of six Centre College faculty, chose The Underground Railroad for the New Student Book Discussion. The novel follows Cora\u2014a young slave on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-leisure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}