I went to a book talk at the Harvard Coop tonight (admittedly to check out the venue–Frank is giving a talk there tomorrow night.)
I came away with a new, optimistic critique of amoral globalization that goes beyond the usual “warmed-over Marxism, self-indulgent postmodernism, or insular fundamentalism,” to quote Harvard lecturer Adam K. Webb, author of Beyond the Global Culture War.
Webb gives a passionate though scholarly argument for social justice and the civilizing power of shared traditions. Like some others in the audience, I’d be more enthused about strong traditionalists (e.g. the Christian Right) if they fought economic wrongs instead of obsessing about other people’s sexuality. But whether or not I end up agreeing with Webb (I bought his book), I was relieved to hear some new thoughts on troubling issues that very much need new solutions.
Meanwhile, here’s what I learned about Harvard Coop book-signings:
- Although the official starting time was 7, most of the audience arrived between 7 and 7:10. Wisely, the reading wasn’t started until then.
- Richard (I don’t know his last name), who works for the Coop, gave an interesting and knowledgeable introduction before Adam Webb began. Apparently, he introduces all the speakers.
- Webb didn’t read from his book–he gave about a 20-minute summary of its arguments, and then took questions.
- The crowd was a mixture–curious people like me plus a bunch of Webb’s students who sat near the back. Richard says that the size of the crowd is unpredictable–he’s seen as few as 2 people and as many as 50.
I’ve been reading about book-signings on the web–one of the things I’ve seen recommended is to make bookmarks about your book. So I did spend quite a lot of today designing one for Fantastic Realities, but now I’m not sure how appropriate it would be to bring to the Coop.
Anyway, if you’re in the Harvard Square area on Tuesday, May 2, 2006, at 7 p.m., Frank Wilczek and I will be up on Level 3 of the Harvard Coop Bookstore, talking about Fantastic Realities, and I’ll give you one of my bookmarks if you want one.
If some bloggers come, it’d truly be fantastic.