Please join the GCC Library & Learning Commons for the second session of the scholar-led readings and discussions entitled “Let’s Talk About It: Muslim Journeys” and sponso red in collaboration with Margaret Marcotte, director of Yale University’s PIER Program. This series is free and open to the public.

The event will take place Tuesday, October 29, from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in room S217, Library Multi-purpose Room. Professor Martin Nguyen, assistant professor of Religious Studies, Fairfield University, will lead a discussion of The Conference of the Birds by Farid al-Din Attar, translated by Dick Davis and Afkham Darbandi.

Subsequent discussions, led by experts from Yale University and Gateway, are scheduled for Nov. 5, and on Feb 11, and April 15, 2014 and will focus on the theme of literary reflections. Titles include Snow, Dreams of Trespass, and Minarets. The discussion books were chosen as a part of the Bridging Cultures Muslim Journeys series with the help of several renowned scholars in anthropology, world history and religious studies. 

The “Let’s Talk About It: Muslim Journeys” series is funded by a $4,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA). Gateway’s Library and Learning Commons is among 125 libraries across the country chosen to participate in the project, which seeks to familiarize the public with Muslim people, places, history, faith and cultures around the world. The Bridging Cultures Bookshelf is a project of NEH, conducted in cooperation with the ALA Public Programs Office, with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The “Let’s Talk About It: Muslim Journeys” series is an ongoing event that takes place over the next two semesters. The series will take place in GCC’s Library & Learning Commons at 20 Church St., New Haven on the second floor of the south building. 

For details or to register for these free public discussions, please contact Dr. Clara Ogbaa at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Professor Renee Gaines at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; or Professor Susan Chenard at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..