The Livingston Public Library is partnering with The New Jersey Council for the Humanities to host the Public Scholars Project program, How We See Ourselves in What We Read, presented by Dr. Laura Nicosia. In this session, a guided discussion will explore aspects of social justice and representation through a look at a variety of carefully chosen texts.

Do children, maybe your children or your students, see themselves in the books they’re reading? What do you see in those books? What they’re reading may be representative, but then again, it may not be. It’s important to identify the harmful representations overall and ensure exposure to diversity for growth and development. Reading plays such a huge role in developing critical thinking skills and empathy. In this session, a guided discussion will explore aspects of social justice and representation through a look at a variety of carefully chosen texts.

Laura Nicosia, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Montclair State University where she teaches American/YA Literatures and methods of teaching the humanities using technologies. She is Past President of the NJ Council of Teachers of English and is NJ State Representative to the Assembly on Literature of Adolescents. An author of numerous books and articles, Laura always encourages an examination of texts that provoke conversations.