Massey College [Virtual] Book Club: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Join us for a virtual discussion of An American Marriage, the award-winning novel by Tayari Jones.

This event will be broadcast online and is free and open to all – there is no login or registration required to tune in. Click here to watch the livestream.

Our co-presenters for the event are Visiting Scholar, Dr. Alia Weston and Junior Fellow Laina Southgate with moderator Alexander Sarra-Davis. Dr. Weston is a professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at OCAD University who explores the intersection of business, creativity, and social change. Laina Southgate is pursuing her PhD in literature at the University of Toronto, and is interested in the connection between writing and the development of national identity.

Dr. Alia Weston is an Associate Professor of Creative and Business Enterprise at OCAD University. Her scholarship critically examines the intersection of business, creativity, and social change, through themes like critical business, creative resourcefulness, social innovation, and food methodologies. Two of her current projects are Good w/ Foodexamining experiences of women-identified creative entrepreneurs through community dinners in Toronto, and a co-design project building sustainable menstrual health management systems in Zimbabwe. Alia’s scholarship and teaching are supported by her work as a jewelry designer. She runs two brands promoting socially responsible business practices Alia Weston Jewellery and Fireflies Atelier. 

Laina Southgate is a second year PhD student in English Literature. At the core of her research is an interest in the connection between literature and the development of national identity. Laina is currently researching Shakespeare adaptation and translation in Northern European countries during the National Romantic movement in the nineteenth century, with a focus on Finland. Laina completed her undergraduate degree with High Distinction at the University of Toronto, and her SSHRC funded MA at the University of British Columbia. Laina is also the Associate Production Editor at Shakespeare Quarterly, and a board member of Canadian Friends of Finland. 

Alexander Samuel Book Sarra-Davis is a fifth-year PhD candidate studying literature at the University of Toronto. He has earned degrees from the Universities of British Columbia and Cambridge, is a member of the International Society for the Study of Narrative, and has been a Junior Fellow at Massey College since 2016. Alexander’s research examines the difficult questions of ethical representation in literary fiction.