Community Read: Book Discussion: Identities

Join us on our first book discussion surrounding the novel When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka. The discussion will focus on identity - how the characters view their own identity as a racial minority, and how society views them. We will reflect on how we all have and navigate our own identities.

About the Community Read

Julie Otsuka's stunning book, When the Emperor was Divine, details the experiences of a family with the Japanese internment camps set up by the U.S. government following Pearl Harbor. In partnership with the Asian American Cultural Center, the YWCA of the University of Illinois is coordinating a Community Read of a book that challenges us to think more deeply about the lives of Japanese-Americans, our own American history, and today’s politically-charged atmosphere of xenophobia and fear.

The iSchool is proud to be a sponsor of Community Read.