The Free World Wrap Up

Grab a coffee or tea and join in on our wrap up discussion of The Free World by Louis Menand. We'll discuss chapters 11-18 and look back on the book as a whole and share what ideas, moments, or voices stayed with us most. We'll also introduce our next book! See you there! ***Reading is not required***\*. Our conversations flow naturally between the book’s ideas and our own perspectives on how culture, art, and politics shape the world around us.\* *If you haven’t completed the reading, see the overview below for a sense of the topics and figures that appear in the chapters we’ll be discussing.* *.* . . ***Key Figures:*** *James Baldwin, Andy Warhol, Marshall McLuhan, Frantz Fanon, and Susan Sontag.* ***Together we’ll explore themes including***\*:\* * *Cultural rebellion among younger writers and thinkers of the time* * *How mass consumption and marketing reshaped ideas of individuality and freedom* * *Cinema, criticism, and transatlantic cultural exchange* * *Pop art and the blending of high and popular culture* * *Civil rights, liberation movements* * *Student activism, Vietnam era debates, intellectual dissent*