SBCC Reads MOBY DUCK 2012
From Luria Library
SBCC Reads 2012: MOBY DUCK
In collaboration with UCSB Reads 2012, Santa Barbara City College's Luria Library will be hosting a number of events and activities to explore the issues raised as we read this book together.
Purposes: Conversations, readings, displays, and other activities will explore interdisciplinary issues sparked by the selected book. Copies of the book will distributed free to interested students, and faculty members are encouraged to incorporate the book into their class curricula.
•Generate informed discussion of key issues by promoting the reading and discussion of books on the broad theme of human impact on environment, consumption, and waste, particularly in the ocean.
•Encourage the exchange of ideas among members of our campus and U.C. Santa Barbara, Westmont College, and Antioch University, as well as Santa Barbara community members.
•Focus on academic disciplines at SBCC which provide us with a broader understanding of the issues raised in the book.
•Create further campus appreciation of the library and the role it plays in education and research.
•Connect SBCC students, particularly transfer candidates, to activities and faculty at UCSB and to readers in the Santa Barbara community.
The Book
The book chosen for discussion, Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn.
Watch a documentary movie trailer here
A revelatory tale of science, adventure, and modern myth. When the writer Donovan Hohn heard of the mysterious loss of thousands of bath toys at sea, he figured he would interview a few oceanographers, talk to a few beachcombers, and read up on Arctic science and geography. But questions can be like ocean currents: wade in too far, and they carry you away. Hohn's accidental odyssey pulls him into the secretive world of shipping conglomerates, the daring work of Arctic researchers, the lunatic risks of maverick sailors, and the shadowy world of Chinese toy factories. Moby-Duck is a journey into the heart of the sea and an adventure through science, myth, the global economy, and some of the worst weather imaginable. With each new discovery, Hohn learns of another loose thread, and with each successive chase, he comes closer to understanding where his castaway quarry comes from and where it goes. In the grand tradition of Tony Horwitz and David Quammen, Moby-Duck is a compulsively readable narrative of whimsy and curiosity.
Read more about the book and the author here.
Read an excerpt of the book here.
The Luria Library will distribute over 100 free copies of the book to students in late January and we are hoping that when students finish reading the book, they will please redistribute each copy to another reader! There will be a collection basket in the library for this purpose.
SBCC Reads 2012 Activities -- planning still in progress
•The Luria Library will distribute free copies of the book to interested students January 28th.
•Book club, with student-led discussions, starts on February 9th.
•Panel discussion on plastics and other ocean debris, Santa Barbara Channel and sustainable consumption
•Service learning opportunity -- Beach clean up with Beach Angels tbd
Possible Speakers/Panelist/Films-- planning in progress
•Speaker on ocean plastics Anna Cummins, with 5Gyres Institute and the Algalita Marine Research Foundation: Elected a National Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2010, Anna has been working since 2007 as an educational advisor to raise awareness on plastic marine pollution. Anna and her husband Marcus Erikson recently co-founded 5 Gyres in collaboration with Algalita and Pangaea Explorations, to research and communicate about plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
•Blair Mott, World Diving Specialist, Cousteau diver, and underwater film maker. Graduate of SBCC MDT program and an old friend.
•Cindy Rhodes Our World of Oceans (805) 636-1526 crhpdesappraisal@aol.com re: Earl Richmond film
•Peter Howorth: Local marine life consultant and SB Newspress writer of weekly Pacific Log, has written on plastics. Article from Sunday July 17, 2011 in the file.
•Surfrider Santa Barbara. Making Waves plastics article last year:
• Hannah Tokuno/Ocean Blue [http://blueoceansciences.org Ocean Communication Through Art (OCTA] OCTA is a Blue Ocean Sciences project to help communicate what we see in our world’s oceans with a visual medium.
•Santa Barbara Channelkeeper [1]
•Santa Barbara MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) may be expanding starting Jan 1 and National Underwater Parks
•Santa Barbara Zoo would be interested in participating or hosting a Zoo to You wildlife educationevent in front of the library to talk about marine birds?
•Workshop: Art from Scrap http://artfromscrap.org/
Service Learning/Community Service--Clean Our Beach
•Beach clean up in tandem with Beach Angels. Sundance Beach would write an article? •Turf2Surf volunteers? •Underwater clean up by MDT students on the wharf
Further Reading--work in progress
These books in the library may be of interest... book list to be developed
Community Events
•The author will speak at UCSB on March 5th.
•Community events related to the book includes lectures, panel discussions, and workshops.
•Check the UCSB Reads 2012 Events page for a complete schedule of events for the UCSB Reads program.
•Check the activities sponsored by the Santa Barbara Public Library.
