Discover U.S. history through our curated selection of texts and discuss how our nation's history and our understandings of the past inform the present.
This month's text is the The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Please register online here by Dec. 16.
Author Upton Sinclair went undercover in Chicago's meat-packing plants in the early 1900s, intending to expose the terrible conditions faced by the American working class and advocate for widespread labor reform. Published in 1905, The Jungle instead revolutionized American food quality, with laws quickly being passed requiring cleaner production lines, livestock inspections, and more. Famously, the author once summed up his work by saying "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach."
Schedule:
- 5:30-6 p.m. (optional): Hear a summary of the text and additional historical context - ideal for participants who didn't read the book or who want a refresher
- 6-7 p.m.: Participate in a guided discussion of the selected text
- 7-7:30 p.m. (optional): Socialize and enjoy light refreshments
Ages 16 and up.
Fee: $8 (resident) / $10 (non-resident). Drop-ins are welcome as space permits.
Call the museum at (847) 929-8001 or email eengland@skokieparks.org with questions.
Next month's text will be Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America by Ira Berlin.