Global Health Initiatives Book Club
Open Up to the World of Global Health
Join globally minded faculty, staff, students and community members and engage in global health thought without needing to get on a plane. Participants will read at their own pace, have support from the Office of Global Health Initiatives (GHI) and be able to discuss the book with fellow readers at their choice of an in-person or virtual small group event.
Spring 2023 Book
Bring the world of global health to Kentucky as we discuss Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.
(From the publisher) Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.
Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.
In-Person: April 18, 4:00 PM - Bradley Hall 207
Virtual: April 19, 12:00 PM - ZOOM
Join the Global Health Book Club, get discussion points, and stay informed about future book selections: https://bookclubs.com/clubs/5963110/join/cea18b
Suggested Reading Schedule:
- By February 27, read through Chapter 16
- By March 20, read through Chapter 32
- By April 3, read through Chapter 48
- By April 17, read to the end
Target Audience:
Those interested in social determinants of health that impact people worldwide. Substance use disorders, living in poverty, difficulties for recipients of social services are all themes.
Questions? Contact craig.borie@uky.edu
Sponsored By UK's Global Health Initiatives
