Visiting author Loeb discusses 'everyday activism' at IU Kokomo
October 20, 2005
KOKOMO, Ind.—Author Paul Rogat Loeb believes that people “need hope”—the hope that their individual actions can result in a more humane world.
He will explore this belief during a November 9–11 visit to Indiana University Kokomo, sponsored by the campus' American Democracy Project. Loeb will offer classroom presentations, a faculty development workshop, and a community discussion. Titled “Politics and Everyday Activism,” the discussion will be held on Wednesday, November 9, at 7 p.m. in the Kelley Student Center, Room 130. Admission is free and open to the public.
News of the war in Iraq and the recent devastating hurricanes have many students searching for ways “to help and stay hopeful,” said Coordinator of Programming and Applied Learning Aimee Ash. “Loeb will remind us that people have persevered through equally—if not harder—times, and that change is possible.”
Loeb has written and spoken on social involvement for numerous news outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NPR, and C-SPAN. He has lectured on more than 300 college campuses and at numerous national conferences. Loeb's January 2002 talk at the annual provost's conference of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities inspired the American Democracy Project, an initiative now involving 200 campuses, including Indiana University Kokomo. Through ADP, academic and student life programs explore civic activities vital to the life of a democracy—voting, volunteerism and advocacy of social issues.
(ADP activities will take place at IU Kokomo through spring 2006. Visit iuk.edu/adp to see a schedule of events.)
Loeb's newest book is The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear (Basic Books, 2004). In it, Loeb and other activist writers—such as Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, Jim Hightower, and Marian Wright Edelman—offer concrete examples of how people have stood up to and defeated injustice. The History Channel and The American Book Association named The Impossible Will Take a Little While as their Number 3 political book of fall 2004. It received the Nautilus Award as the best spirituality and social change book of 2004.
For more information on Loeb's appearances at IU Kokomo, contact Ash at aeash@iuk.edu or (765) 455-9491. Persons without campus parking permits should follow signs to free visitor parking for the November 9 lecture.
