Reading Groups

Winter 2025 Reading Groups

The Universal House of Justice has set as a focus for the Association for Bahá’í Studies to create opportunities for the friends to build their capacity to contribute to discourses in professional and academic fields from a Bahá’í perspective. The need for this seems clearer every day.

As one initiative in this context, ABS is organizing several online reading groups. The purpose of a reading group is to encourage individuals connected to a given professional or academic discourse to engage thoughtfully and rigorously with important texts in a consultative environment that aims to increase their capacity to contribute to that discourse. It does so by meeting regularly over the course of a number of weeks to review selected readings and discuss their implications for understanding the discourse and the assumptions that underlie it. With the assistance of facilitators, the group strives to analyze the text(s) in light of the writings of the Faith, the experience of the community, and the conceptual framework that organizes the Bahá’í community’s efforts to transform society. Participation entails a commitment to reading the material and contributing to the consultation during the sessions.

Reading groups are offered throughout the year. To keep informed of this and other ABS initiatives, join our electronic mailing list (by writing to [email protected]) or follow us on Facebook or Instagram. If you are interested, you can view our list of past reading groups.

Whiteness & Patriarchy: Weeding Out Barriers to Oneness, Cultivating Justice and Authenticity

We will continue to explore in this fourth series of sessions/themes the broad issues of whiteness and patriarchy as barriers to oneness, manifested by the three protagonists (individuals, communities, and institutions). We seek to gain new understandings, weeding and cultivating simultaneously, to strengthen authentic relationships in justice and oneness. Theme Four began in the Fall of 2024 and focused on how we navigate our discomfort while reading and studying texts and films on whiteness and patriarchy. We watched and discussed the films: The Feminist on Cell Block Y (2018), and Periodical (2024), and read Ain't I a Woman by bell hooks. Continuing in January 2025 we will read essays from Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, and correlate them with the Bahá’í writings.

“... whither can we direct our affections, and what comfort can we expect? How are we to find repose, and in what hope can our hearts rejoice? O the pity! A myriad times the pity, if for a single moment we should look for ease or comfort …” (Bahá’u’lláh)

We expect curious and eager participants who are willing to live in the discomfort of transformational change.

Texts:

Essays by Audre Lorde, from Sister Outsider: Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power, and The Master’s Tools, correlated with Baha’i writings.

We will also utilize the arts-grounded practice of PhotoSophia (light and wisdom) as a means of knowing our true selves, to weed out the old order and cultivate the new.

Facilitators: Sarah Martin, Trina Gluckman, Pamela Starks, Chuck Egerton

Schedule: Weekly (Saturday) 11 – 25 Jan, 3:00 to 5:00 PM Eastern Time (future sessions TBA)

To find out how to register for this group, please email [email protected].

The Modern Intellectual Tradition: Part 2

This reading group is the second in a series of groups dedicated to exploring, in light of the Bahá’í Writings, the work of major thinkers in the Western intellectual tradition since the dawn of the Scientific Revolution. The first group, which convened this past fall, focused on how the philosophies of Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Leibniz, Rousseau, Hume, and Kant helped to transform our understanding of the world we live in, and the implications of this transformation for the advancement of civilization. This second group considers the writings of influential nineteenth-century thinkers—such as Hegel, Kierkegaard, Marx, and Nietzsche—who were grappling with many of the issues also being addressed by the Revelations of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. This will set the stage for subsequent reading groups, which will examine major contributions to philosophical thought during the Twentieth Century. With a view to refining our capacity to participate in discourses concerned with contemporary intellectual trends, the group will listen to Lawrence Cahoone’s lecture series, “The Modern Intellectual Tradition: From Descartes to Derrida” and read supplementary material from selected sources. We will also draw correlations with passages from the writings of the Faith to enrich our understanding of the content.

Participants are encouraged to participate for the full 90 minutes as often as they can. Participants will benefit most from the reading group by listening to the assigned lectures and engaging with readings and relevant Bahá’í writings, before we meet. A familiarity with the key questions and answers will also be helpful in elevating the conversation, which is sharply focused on the weekly assignments. While our goal is 100% participation, not everyone will be ready for that. The use of the chat option for sharing questions, comments, concerns, and citations, is highly encouraged. At the end of eight weeks, we hope to have a modest shareable resource suggesting potential correlations between the Bahá’í writings and some elements in Cahoone’s lectures.

Texts:

Lectures: “The Modern Intellectual Tradition: From Descartes to Derrida” by Lawrence Cahoone
The Bahá’í Reference Library
Sergeev, M. (2021). Studies in Bahá’í Epistemology: Essays and Commentaries.

Supplementary Material:

The Dream of Reason: The Rise of Modern Philosophy, by Anthony Gottlieb
Philosophy: The Classics, by Nigel Warburton
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Relevant Wikipedia articles.

Facilitator: Maureen Flynn-Burhoe

Schedule: Weekly (Tuesday) 21 Jan – 11 Mar, 7:00 to 8:30 PM Eastern Time

Registration capacity: 12

Advancing Organizations: Embracing Altruism for Success

“The state of the world reflects a distortion of the human spirit, not its essential nature” writes the Universal House of Justice in its Riḍván 2012 message. The reading group seeks to deepen our understanding of success through altruism by examining the dynamics of giving and taking in professional and personal realms, guided by both scientific insights and spiritual principles.

The main text, Give and Take, challenges conventional wisdom by demonstrating that helping others can significantly drive our own success. Through research and storytelling, Adam Grant suggests that successful people are often those who give the most. This paradigm-shifting book explores how different interaction styles—givers, takers, and matchers—affect success and provides actionable strategies to foster a giving culture that benefits everyone.

In addition to the text, our reading group will delve into relevant excerpts from Bahá’í Writings and Guidance. Our aim is to uncover profound insights that bridge scientific findings with spiritual wisdom, ultimately helping us understand the true nature of success and contribution.

The group will read and discuss the book over six weekly sessions. Participants are expected to complete the reading for each week in advance and are encouraged to actively engage in the discussions, with cameras on if possible.

Text:

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

Facilitators: Philip Rehayem, Heeten Choxi

Schedule: Weekly (Tuesday) 21 Jan – 25 Feb, 8:00 to 9:30 PM Eastern Time

Help This Garden Grow

This reading group will explore environmental injustice, racism, and the countering importance of a consciousness of oneness, expressed through relationships of justice for all as the only way forward to building just communities for everyone. We will explore two texts in dialogue with one another. The 2022 statement by the Bahá'í International Community, “One Planet, One Habitation: A Bahá'í Perspective on Recasting Humanity’s Relationship with the Natural World” provides a spiritual-material foundation for our understanding, while the podcast “Help This Garden Grow” grounds our discussions in powerful experiences that illustrate the struggle for environmental justice.

“Help This Garden Grow”, a 6-part podcast docuseries with accompanying transcripts that tells the story of the Altgeld Gardens community on the far Southside of Chicago, will serve as the experiential foundation for discussions. It is the story of how environmental racism influences the government’s choice to build a community for Black people within the center of an area infused with toxic industrial waste. The initial struggle of one woman, Hazel Johnson, became a multigenerational community fight to draw the attention of local and national governmental leaders to the environmental pollution in Altgeld Gardens that is continually sickening and killing its community members. The podcast describes the struggle of Hazel Johnson, later her daughter, and finally, an organized community effort to bring attention to the community’s suffering and to find ways to address the pollution at its various sources. It is also a positive story of how a marginalized community can arise, organize, and develop its own resources to help itself by building an environmental justice movement.

Texts:

Podcast and transcript: “Help This Garden Grow”, presented by Respair Production and Media, Elevate, and People for Community Recovery
One Planet, One Habitation: A Bahá'í Perspective on Recasting Humanity’s Relationship with the Natural World

Participants are encouraged to complete the podcast and reading assignments prior to each session.

If you have any questions about this group please contact Sue Ballew St Clair ([email protected]) or Susan Wolfe ([email protected]).

This reading group is organized by the Wilmette Institute.

Facilitators: Sue Ballew St Clair, Susan Wolfe

Schedule: Weekly (Wednesday) 22 Jan – 24 Mar, 7:00 to 8:30 PM Eastern Time

The Movies as a World Force

Throughout the silent-feature era, American artists and intellectuals routinely described cinema as a force of global communion, a universal language promoting mutual understanding and harmonious coexistence amongst disparate groups of people. In the early 1920s, film-industry leaders began to espouse this utopian view, in order to claim for motion pictures an essentially uplifting social function. The Movies as a World Force examines the body of writing in which this understanding of cinema emerged and explores how it shaped particular silent films and their marketing campaigns. The utopian and universalist view of cinema, the book shows, represents a synthesis of New Age spirituality and the new liberalism. It provided a framework for the first official, written histories of American cinema and persisted as an advertising trope, even after the transition to sound made movies reliant on specific national languages.

This group will explore film as a world force, noting some of the underlying assumptions within the ideologies presented in this body of writing. Select film screenings will also be included with study of the text.

Text:

The Movies as a World Force by Ryan Jay Friedman + Film Screenings

Facilitator: Christina Wright

Schedule: Weekly (Wednesday) 15 Jan – 26 Feb, 8:30 to 10:00 PM Eastern Time

The Master Switch; The History and Future of Innovation in Media Technology

Continuing in the media and digital media exploration, this reading group will look at the history of innovation in media and media technologies over the past 100 years or so, how we might understand it in the context of the Spirit of the Age, and what we can learn from this about what the future might hold.

Tim Wu's The Master Switch delves into the history of innovation in media technology. From the telegraph to radio, to TV and the internet, and now AI, the text explores how 'disruptive innovation' has characterized the dynamics of change in media, with the key players, theoretical dimensions, and social structures influencing media development. This reading group will utilize this text to understand some basic assumptions embedded in the development of media technology and how Bahá’í conceptions of consultation, gender equality, paradigms of spiritual reality, to name a few, may be realized in future media technological development, including in the context of 'disruptive and inclusive innovation'.

Participants are encouraged to read one chapter of the text each week, and are also invited to choose one week to present a summary of the chapter and provide some discussion questions if they wish.

Text:

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu

Facilitators: Ashiyan Ian Rahmani, Nicola Casserly

Schedule: Weekly (Wednesday) 29 Jan – 30 April, 8:00 to 9:30 PM Eastern Time

Theory and Early Child Education

In this reading group we aim to better understand the influences that the theories of Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky have on our views of children. How can we correlate the ideas elaborated by these thinkers with the verities contained in the writings of the Bahá’í Faith?

We hope that since we are approaching the topic of education through the lens of Bahá’í parenthood, participants will show flexibility as we try to accommodate folks who may have children with them.

Text:

Theories of Childhood by Carol Garhart Mooney

Facilitators: Emily Rushdy, Quddús George

Schedule: Twice weekly (Tuesday/Thursday) 21 Jan – 8 Apr, 9:00 to 9:30 AM Eastern Time

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

Looking through the long lens of human history, Nexus by Harari shows how the flow of information from the Stone Age through modern times—culminating in Artificial Intelligence—has made and unmade our world. The book explores the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom, and power. Harari, furthermore, investigates how different societies and political systems have wielded information to achieve their goals and impose order, for good and bad. He also addresses urgent choices we face today and provides an essential background to understanding the threats and promises of today’s AI revolution. In addition to the book, the reading group may rely on supplementary sources of information such as excerpts, articles, and videos. The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to refine our readings of reality to more effectively pursue paths of service, addressing salient challenges to humanity.

Participants should complete the readings and any supplementary materials prior to each session (Readings are approximately 40 pages per week).

Text:

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari. A sample of the book (Prologue and Chapter 1) is available on Amazon.

Facilitators: Robert Hanevold, Bill Kelly

Schedule: Weekly (Sunday) 26 Jan – 13 Apr, 8:00 to 9:30 PM Eastern Time

Exploring the Power of Theatre for Community Building and Social Action

This reading group hopes to bring together artists, filmmakers, educators, junior youth animators, children's class teachers and anyone interested to learn and consult on how theatre can be harnessed for community building, social action, and positive change. The text, Theatre for Change: Education, Social Action and Therapy by Robert Landy and David T. Montgomery identifies some of the best international practices in Applied Drama and Theatre. Through interviews with leading practitioners and educators, the authors present the key concepts, theories and reflective praxis of Applied Drama and Theatre. As they discuss the changes brought about by practitioners in venues such as schools, community centres, village squares and prisons, Landy and Montgomery explore the field's ability to make meaning of a vast range of personal and social issues through the application of drama and theatre.

Participants will be encouraged to reflect on how the insights from the readings and consultations can be integrated into their professional work and the community building activities of the Faith in an effort to respond to the call of the Universal House of Justice to "draw more effectively on the power of the arts".

Text:

Theatre for Change: Education, Social Action and Therapy by Robert Landy and David T. Montgomery

Facilitator: Naseem Naderi

Schedule: Biweekly (Tuesday) 21 Jan – 29 Apr, 8:00 to 9:30 PM Eastern Time

Recent Developments in Science and Worldviews

What is this thing called Science? How does it affect the way we see the world? Where did it come from, and what are the intellectual foundations of its development? The book Worldviews: An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of Science by Richard DeWitt is a comprehensive overview of the development of science. The text lends itself to an advancing conversation about the intellectual foundations of the fields of science and the purpose behind their respective advancements in various subfields. Participants will ideally connect the concepts and principles discussed in this space to their professional fields to engage in discourses. In our efforts to adopt an outward orientation concerning advancing discourse, participants are welcome to invite their colleagues in academia and/or industry.

The group will review the final Part III of Worldviews by Richard DeWitt and study the Tablet of the Universe (Lawh-i-Aflákiyyih) by ʻAbdu’l-Bahá. Participants will also be asked to review various articles from the Journal for Baha’i Studies regarding the relationship between Science, Philosophy, and Religion.

While some content from this group is a continuation from last season's reading group, it is open to all participants to join and learn together.

The expectation is that participants will read the chapters or articles being discussed at the weekly meeting. Participants will strive to attend every session and fully participate in the consultations.

One capacity that we are trying to draw on is the ability to read attentively and share our thoughts liberally, with discipline. Another hope is to be more experimental with our contributions, particularly in written form, to engage more deeply in discussions that apply to our particular social reality.

For more information please contact [email protected]

Text:

Worldviews: An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of Science by Richard DeWitt

Facilitators: Robert Fathieh-Ngunjiri, Adib Shafipour

Schedule: Weekly (Thursday) 23 Jan – 13 Mar, 8:30 to 10:00 PM Eastern Time

Exploring the Sacred Relationship between Man & Nature

Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests, offers an opportunity to understand the importance of man’s relationship to nature. Diana Beresford-Kroeger has a unique heritage and scientific education. Her study of trees has provided insights into how closely we are all tied to one another and to the natural world. Her message is to pay rapt attention to trees; they are the green heart of the living world – our lungs, our medicine, our oxygen and the renewal of our soil. Each chapter shows us a slice of the natural world through Diana’s unique lens. She illuminates how our health is tied to the health of the forest – a tie we ignore at our peril. She maps the science that still needs to be done, and the path to survival. Planting the right trees in the right places, protecting the last virgin forests and working to create new ones is our best means to ensure a future for our children and grandchildren.

Diana is dedicated to helping humanity understand that all life is unique and shared; that “all is one, all is unity”. We are dependent on one another. This is the sacredness of the essential relationship between man and nature. It is a book offering hope and actions to help reorient man's relationship with nature.

ABS readers are involved in weekly discussions about relevant topics that build the capacity to elevate conversations with individuals and representatives of institutions in their communities, leading to unity of thought and action contributing to the welfare of society.

Assigned chapters from the book, together with excerpts from the Bahá’í writings that correlate with chapter themes will be provided weekly in advance of our Zoom meetings. Please feel free to participate in weekly discussions regardless of whether you have kept pace with the assigned readings.

Text:

Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests by Diana Beresford-Kroeger

Facilitators: Nola Marion, Farrah Farkhondeh Marasco

Schedule: Weekly (Tuesday) 21 Jan – 25 March, 7:00 to 8:30 PM Eastern Time

New Tendencies in Peace, Development and Conflict Studies: Participating in Social Discourse as a Peace Practitioner

To assist us in responding to the Universal House of Justice's call to be practitioners of peace, we will review some foundational questions and challenges in Peace, Development, and Conflict Studies. We will look at the empowerment of individuals and communities toward building more just and peaceful societies through a critique of Modernity carried from post-colonial and post-national perspectives. We will explore the following overarching themes: a conceptual framework for understanding peace and war, and critiques; an intersectional analysis of conflict, justice and solidarity; and pathways to justice: educational models, activism and institutional practices.

Friends are welcome to register until the deadline, but the facilitator will review the final list and choose 12-15 friends to participate, taking into consideration their backgrounds, interests, and experiences.

Participants will be encouraged to complete the required readings prior to each session. All the readings (required and complementary) will be shared with participants two weeks prior to the beginning of our sessions in a Google folder.

Texts:

Habermas, Dabashi, Pineda, Freire and more; plus videos.

Facilitator: Martha Rabbani

Schedule: Weekly (Wednesday) 5 Feb – 9 Apr, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern Time

Education for Transformation

Education, today, seems mainly concerned with the acquisition of information, skills, and abilities that allow students to accumulate material wealth, status, and power over others within the present-day structures of society, a social order that continues to disintegrate. What humanity requires here and now, globally and locally, is an elevation of its thinking about education, new ways of conceptualizing education as something more, much more, than a means for individual material gain. One systematic effort to rethink education is offered by FUNDAEC, the “Foundation for the Application and Teaching of the Sciences”, in courses that seek to foster in students the capabilities they will need to participate constructively in the transformation of society – heart by heart, neighborhood by neighborhood – toward the unification of all humankind. This reading group will examine the FUNDAEC approach to developing our capability to formulate more and more accurate perceptions of social reality in the second unit of one particular text, Intellectual Preparation for Social Action. Through this unit, we hope to stimulate discourse on education that will contribute to our own transformation as well as the transformation of conceptual frameworks for learning and teaching within families, communities, and the whole of society.

Participants are encouraged to read and reflect on the assigned sections of the text before our meetings and, during each meeting, to participate by sharing quotations from the text, thoughts, and questions that may serve to elevate the quality of our conversations.

Text:

Intellectual Preparation for Social Action, Unit 2, FUNDAEC

Facilitators: Robert Blecher, Nancy Blecher

Schedule: Weekly (Sunday) 19 Jan – 30 Mar, 7:30 to 9:30 PM Eastern Time

Spirituality in Art

We will examine the relationship of spirituality to art by looking at some of the arts and ideas emerging in the 20th century, beginning with a text of Kandinsky, Concerning the Spiritual in Art and related artworks. Relating the Bahá’í perspective on the arts to abstract painting, the birth of modernism, and various movements and directions in art since the 1890s, we will discuss and see examples of how spirituality and art are intertwined in distinctive ways. Sharing our own artworks, projects, and perspectives related to how we can further express and develop concepts and works that bring together the important elements of spirituality and art, we will gain appreciation for the role of the arts in the Nine Year Plan and beyond.

Participants are encouraged to complete all the readings prior to each session and to relate the readings to relevant works of art, including their own. Some shared leadership and possible presentations are encouraged. We are hopeful that the reading group will inspire artists to create new works and/or report on some of their own undertakings related to pursuing the intersection of spirituality and art.

Text:

Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky

Facilitators: Anne Perry, Robert Hanevold

Schedule: Biweekly (Wednesday) 29 Jan – 30 Apr, 8:30 to 10:00 PM Eastern Time

Empowering Minds, Transforming Communities

In this reading group, we will delve into the thought-provoking work Moral Empowerment: In Quest of a Pedagogy by Sona Farid-Arbab, which presents a transformative approach to education. The book challenges conventional teaching methods, proposing that the ultimate goal of education should not only be the intellectual development of students but also their moral and spiritual growth. Arbab explores the idea that we are in a transitional era, moving from humanity's childhood to its maturity, with a growing awareness of the interconnectedness of all people. This awareness of oneness becomes a core principle in fostering moral empowerment.

The reading group will explore how educational systems can integrate moral empowerment into their curricula, encouraging students to engage actively in their own personal growth while simultaneously contributing to the transformation of their communities. We will examine how this philosophy can reshape pedagogy, focusing on developing critical thinking, empathy, and social responsibility in students.

Through engaging with the text and discussing its implications, we aim to deepen our understanding of how education can foster not only academic success but also active participation in the transformation of our communities to meet the challenges of our time.

Participants are required to obtain a copy of Moral Empowerment: In Quest of a Pedagogy by Sona Farid-Arbab before January 26th, 2025. Each week, participants can expect to read approximately 40 pages and attend sessions for their full duration. To ensure a meaningful and enriching experience, participants are encouraged to take notes and reflect on the discussion questions assigned to each chapter. This will help foster a productive and engaging consultation during the session.

Text:

Moral Empowerment: In Quest of a Pedagogy by Sona Farid-Arbab

Facilitator: Dorna Sadeghi

Schedule: Weekly (Sunday) 26 Jan – 30 Mar, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern Time

Heat: How It’s Changing the World

This reading group is situated in the Climate/Environment Working Group. The overall purpose of our working group and this reading group is to learn more about the challenges of a heating planet and loss of species; to consider our responsibility as Bahá’ís, have in-depth conversations in the group and within our individual circles, and find ways of taking action. This group will focus on extreme heat as an issue of public health, public safety and justice. The goal is to take action locally for prevention and/or relief.

Participants should acquire the book early. Everyone is expected to complete assigned readings prior to each session, in order to participate in group discussions, contribute to learning and plan for local action where they live.

And, as it can be useful for local action to have more than one participant from an area, you may want to invite someone you know to join. This is optional.

Texts:

The Heat Will Kill you First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet, Jeff Goodell, 2023 (available in paperback on Amazon, Indigo, any major bookstore, or in public or university libraries)
Selected Writings, documents, websites, videos and materials shared as needed

Facilitators: Nancy Dinnigan-Prashad, Leslie Cole

Schedule: Weekly (Wednesday) 22 Jan – 23 Apr, 7:30 to 9:00 PM Eastern Time

Democracy and the Public Sphere, Part 2

This reading group is the second in a series of groups dedicated to exploring, in the light of the Bahá’í writings, the work of major thinkers examining the nature of democracy and the public sphere. Having explored the work of Immanuel Kant, G. W. F. Hegel, J. S. Mill, Walter Lippmann, John Dewey, Joseph Schumpeter, and Carl Schmidt in the fall, the group this winter will focus on how the philosophies of thinkers such as Hannah Arendt, Jurgen Habermas, Nancy Fraser, Niklas Luhmann, and Chantal Mouffe, among others, have helped to transform our understanding of modern social and political thought and the implications of this thought for the advancement of civilization. With a view to refining our capacity to participate in discourses concerned with contemporary intellectual trends, we will study essays from these thinkers compiled in The Idea of the Public Sphere: A Reader, edited by Jostein Gripsrud et al., as well as supplementary material from selected sources. We will also draw correlations with passages from the writings of the Faith to enrich our understanding of the content.

Texts:

Arendt, Habermas, Fraser, Luhmann, Mouffe, and others.

Facilitator: Todd Smith

Schedule: Weekly (Thursday) 16 Jan – 13 Mar, 12:00 to 1:30 PM Eastern Time

Transformative Leadership: An Example of Bahá’í-Inspired Discourse

Anello & Hernandez developed “Transformative Leadership” as a Bahá’í-inspired focus on community development integrated with personal growth and societal change. Transformative Leadership has since been used in a variety of contexts in five continents, including international non-governmental organizations, grassroots organizations, teachers’ professional development, youth empowerment, and other private and public organizations. The reading group will explore mental models of human nature, society, and leadership that impede progress toward a just, united world community, proposing Transformative Leadership’s Conceptual Framework as a positive alternative that bolsters cooperative action in teams, organizations, and communities. (Part I of the book) A future reading group will focus on the 18 capabilities of Transformative Leadership (Part II of the book). The purpose of the reading group is to reflect and put the ideas presented to the test, learning from the reactions generated when we discuss them with others. To achieve this, we invite all participants to find a group (family, friends, workmates, local organization) with whom to share the ideas they study each week and learn from the ensuing interactions. In the weekly Zoom meetings, we will discuss both the content and its use as a form of participation in social discourse.

Participants are encouraged to complete the readings and watch the indicated videos prior to each session, to share their learning with a group of their choice (ideally on a weekly basis), and to learn from the use of this form of discourse.

Texts:

Transformative Leadership: Developing the Hidden Dimension, plus complementary videos.

Facilitators: Vahid Masrour, Joan Hernandez

Schedule: Weekly (Saturday) 18 Jan – 22 Feb, 3:00 to 4:30 PM Eastern Time

Diversity and the Power of Expression

This is the second cohort of a reading group dedicated to exploring the impact and role of diversity in releasing the power of expression in light of the Bahá’í Writings. Forms of expression include any means by which an individual or community expresses ideas, thoughts, reflections, or communicates across individuals and groups. Types of diversity explored will include linguistic, neurological, disability/ability, racial, forms of communication, gender, and types of artistic and cultural diversity.

This reading group will also explore the power of expression from the perspective of speech- language pathology (SLP). SLP is a field focused on communication disorders, and especially the empowerment of individuals to participate as fully as possible in the life of the community irrespective of cognitive or physical disabilities. Professionals from all fields are encouraged to participate in order to explore expression from different perspectives.

Participants are encouraged to participate for the full 90 minutes of discussion as well as to complete the assigned readings (between 5 and 15 pages per week) for each session so they can contribute to the discussion. Adjustments may be made to the schedule/readings as we learn to read the accompanying materials.

Texts:

Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity – Addressing culture as a global public good – United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Serving a Multicultural Population: Different Learning Styles – Brenda Y. Terrell & Janice E. Hale
Shifting the Mindset of Racism Through Cognitive Learning Styles in Communication Sciences & Disorders – Alaina S. Davis, Shameka Stanford
One Idea Per Line: A Guide to Making Easy Read Resources – Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context – Geert Hofstede
What Black Studies is Not: Moving from Crisis to Liberation in Africana Intellectual Work – Greg Carr
Communication Matrix – Dr. Charity Rowland
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Chapter 2: The Tree of Knowledge
Various writings from the Bahá’í Faith
Possible addition: Practice Portal – Professional Issues: Cultural Responsiveness – American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Facilitator: May Derry

Schedule: Weekly (Tuesday) 28 Jan – 15 April, 7:30 to 9:00 PM Eastern Time

Indigenous Studies

Reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous people is the focus of this reading group. In the previous five reading groups, we have studied Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: 94 Calls to Action, Look to the Mountain: an Ecology of Indigenous Education by Gregory Cajete, two research papers by Dr. John Hodson on Indigenous education, True Reconciliation: How to Be a Force for Change by Jody Wilson-Raybould, and Indigenous Relations: Insights, Tips and Suggestions to Make Reconciliation a Reality by Bob Joseph with Cynthia F. Joseph. We have been guided at different times by John Hodson, Louise Profeit-LeBlanc, and Jacqueline Left-Hand-Bull.

We will now read Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, adapted by Monique Gray, and illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt. This book combines traditional Indigenous knowledge with western science to understand how humans have a reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. We have chosen the young adult edition to aid individuals who want to teach young people.

Participants are encouraged to complete the reading prior to each session.

Text:

Braiding Sweetgrass For Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Facilitators: Farzaneh Peterson, Dina Sandgreen, Martha Washington, Sheila Hardy

Schedule: Weekly (Monday) 27 Jan – 14 Apr, 7:00 to 8:30 PM Eastern Time

Compassion Towards Animals: Exploring a Bahá’í Contribution to Discourse

Please join us for an exploration of the treatment of animals, in the Bahá’í writings and in the wider discourse. We will read works from a range of perspectives—scientific, secular- philosophical, and religious—regarding the station of animals and humanity’s relationship to them, and explore what a contribution grounded in the Bahá’í writings might look like. What distinguishes humans from animals? How are we the same? What do the Writings teach us about our treatment of animals? What can we do in our personal and collective lives to contribute to this topic as it relates to the Most Great Peace and to “carry[ing] forward an ever-advancing civilization”? How do the Bahá’í teachings relate to the wider public discourse on the topic? We will explore a range of questions and options for action.

Participants are encouraged to complete all the readings prior to each session and to participate in the full 90-minute sessions.

Texts:

Introductory webinar from Wilmette Institute – “Compassionate Era – The Animal Kingdom in the Baha’i Teachings”
Michael Sabet – “Discerning a Framework for the Treatment of Animals and the Natural World in the Bahá’í Writings: Ethics, Ontology, and Discourse”
Peter Singer – Animal Liberation Now – The Definitive Classic Renewed
Jonathan Balcombe – Second Nature – The Inner Lives of Animals (selected readings)
Collection of Bahá’í writings on specific topics, per class interest

Facilitators: Carole Flood and Michael Sabet

Schedule: Weekly (Sunday) 26 Jan – 23 Mar, 4:00 to 5:30 PM Eastern Time

Systems Thinking for Social Change: Navigating Complexities for Sustainable Impact

“The determined efforts to gain a fuller understanding of, and to live in accordance with, Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings take place within the larger context of the twofold process of disintegration and integration described by Shoghi Effendi. Attaining the objective of the current series of Plans—the release of ever-increasing measures of the society-building power of the Faith—calls for an ability to read the reality of society as it responds to, and is shaped by, these twin processes.” (The Universal House of Justice, 28 November 2023)

Our reading group will delve into the transformative potential of systems thinking to address the multifaceted and often interconnected challenges of our times. We'll explore how to analyze complex social systems, identify leverage points, and implement solutions that create enduring positive change, avoid unintended consequences, and consider the intricate web of factors involved.

We’lll also engage with relevant Bahá’í Writings and Guidance. Our discussions aim to bridge scientific methodologies with spiritual principles, illuminating paths to navigate the constructive and destructive forces shaping our organizations, our communities, and our world.

Text:

Systems Thinking For Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results by David Peter Stroh

Facilitators: Iscander Micael Tinto, Heeten Choxi

Schedule: Weekly (Friday) 21 Feb – 28 Mar, 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Time

Food is Medicine: Approaches in the US

In the US and abroad, “Food is Medicine" interventions are regarded as a range of programs and services that emphasize the vital connection between nutrition and health. These interventions include health-supporting foods like medically tailored meals (MTMs) and groceries (MTGs), as well as food assistance programs, such as produce vouchers, all integrated with the healthcare system. The Bahá'í Writings clearly describe food as an integral component of health and healing. Bahá'í’s also engage in discourses around the promotion of justice and equity in all aspects of life, including around food and its production and distribution. In this reading group, we will explore some broad questions such as: What insights do the Bahá'í Writings offer on the equitable distribution of resources like food? How might these insights shape approaches to healthcare integration? What is the connection between food systems and justice as explored in the Bahá'í Writings? How can these concepts guide us in addressing food insecurity challenges? What barriers exist in applying principles of justice to healthcare-related food interventions, and how might spiritual principles help overcome them? How do Bahá'í teachings encourage us to approach these challenges collaboratively and creatively?

Texts:

We will be studying US reports on "Food is Medicine" in contexts of current policy, interventions, and discourse in light of Bahá'í teachings and guidance related to justice and food.

Facilitator: Jasmine Ipince

Schedule: Biweekly (Sunday) 26 Jan – 9 Mar, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern Time

Health Equity: Foundation for Public Health Policies

Despite significant progress in the health sector, persistent inequities remain, and new disparities continue to emerge. Achieving health equity is essential, yet the world remains far behind Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3). This shortfall may reflect the absence of health equity and recognition of the oneness of mankind as foundational principles in public health policies. Widening gaps in health outcomes reveal a pressing need to allocate resources more equitably. The global community requires a new vision of capacity building and empowerment, as well as inclusive approaches to contribute to more healthy and peaceful societies.

This reading group will critically examine selected readings on public health policies, governance, peace, capacity building, social action and other contemporary discourses through the lens of equity. Drawing on insights from the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh and the Bahá’í approach to social action at the community level, the group will explore how principles of justice, oneness of mankind, and unity can inform a more equitable and inclusive health policy framework. By fostering a reflective and action-oriented dialogue, the group aims to reimagine strategies that contribute to a more just, healthy and peaceful world for all.

Participants are encouraged to attend the full 90 minutes of each session and to complete all the readings prior to each session so they can contribute to the discussion.

Contact information: Guitelle Sabeti [email protected]

Facilitators: Roksana Mirkazemi, Didar Ouladi, Bahie Rassekh, Gabriela Rawhani, Guitelle Sabeti

Schedule: Biweekly (Sunday) 19 Jan – 27 Apr, 9:30 to 11:00 AM Eastern Time

Pedagogy of Love

This reading group will focus on Pedagogy of Love by Antonia Darder, exploring how its insights relate to the Bahá'í teachings and address critical issues of race in the United States. Darder’s work emphasizes the power of love, compassion, and solidarity in education as a means of overcoming oppression and fostering social justice. This aligns closely with the Bahá'í principles of unity, the elimination of racial prejudice, and the transformative role of education in building a more just society. Participants will examine how Darder’s call for an education rooted in love and human connection can help dismantle systemic racism within U.S. schools and society. The group will reflect on how the Bahá'í teachings on the oneness of humanity and the need for racial equality can be applied to create more inclusive, empathetic educational practices. Through dialogue and reflection, we will explore how both Darder’s pedagogy and Bahá'í principles can guide efforts toward racial healing and justice in education.

‘This Wronged One hath forbidden the people of God to engage in contention or conflict and hath exhorted them to righteous deeds and praiseworthy character. In this day the hosts that can ensure the victory of the Cause are those of goodly conduct and saintly character.’

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Author: Bahá’u’lláh, Source: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1988 pocket-size edition, Page: 88, excerpt from LAWḤ-I-DUNYÁ (Tablet of the World)

Participants are encouraged to complete the specified section from the chapter under study prior to each session.

Text:

Reinventing Paulo Freire: A Pedagogy of Love by Antonia Darder

Facilitators: Glenda Battle, Ben Wilson

Schedule: Weekly (Sunday) 26 Jan – 20 Apr, 7:00 to 8:30 PM Eastern Time

Studying a Discourse on Civilizational Collapse

In this reading group, we will read Pablo Servigne & Raphaël Stevens’s How Everything Can Collapse: A Manual for our Times. This book semi-jokingly proposes that enough data has been accumulating to open a new academic field: “Collapsology”, dedicated to research around how humanity’s current civilization is on the verge of a systemic collapse.

The goal for the reading group will be to examine the authors’ propositions and to consider potential overlaps and distinctions with Bahá’í Writings, in order to collect elements of discourse that could be used in conversations with people that share interests in topics such as civilization-building, climate disaster, the anthropocene, and humanity’s future.

All participants are expected to read the agreed upon text for the week, and to contribute pertinent Bahá’í Writings that will enhance the consultation and illuminate Servigne and Stevens’ assessments. One expected outcome would be to elaborate a shared artifact such as a mindmap covering a list of topics and ideas that can be used in personal discourse.

Text:

How Everything Can Collapse: A Manual for our Times by Pablo Servigne & Raphaël Stevens

Facilitator: Vahid Masrour

Schedule: Weekly (Thursday) 23 Jan – 6 Mar, 8:00 to 9:30 PM Eastern Time

Topics in Islamic Theology, Part One: “The Seal of the Prophets”

The Quranic reference to Muḥammad as “the Seal of the Prophets” (khátamu’n-nabíyyín) has been regarded by most—though not all—Muslim authorities as meaning that Muḥammad is the last divine emissary, thus closing the door to any further revelation from God. This group will read the writings of many past and contemporary scholars of Islam who have written about the history of the Islamic doctrine of finality. Scholars whose works we will read include Marshall Hodgson, who averred that the upsurge of prophetic claims during the Apostasy Wars that followed the death of Muḥammad was the impetus to the doctrine that there could be no prophet after Muḥammad, and Yohanan Friedmann, who argued that belief in the finality of prophethood did not gain universal acceptance in the early years of Islam but rather calcified much later. The group will then explore some of the historical, theological, and textual arguments presented in the Bahá’í Writings and in the works of Bahá’í authors to challenge the idea that divine revelation ceased with Muḥammad.

Participants will be asked to read approximately 40 pages before each session. At least two participants will be assigned in each session to summarize the key points of the readings and pose questions to stimulate critical thinking and discussion.

Facilitator: Omid Ghaemmaghami

Schedule: 9:00 to 10:15 PM Eastern Time on the following Fridays: January 31, February 14, March 7, March 28, April 11, and May 2.

The Power of Speech and the Role of the Humanities in Contemporary Discourse – Part 1

The aim of this reading group is to achieve a taxonomy of language phenomena to attempt to better understand what the Universal House of Justice means when it quotes Bahá’u’lláh’s statements that “Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation,” whose influence “is conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon hearts which are detached and pure” and whose moderation consists in a combination of “tact and wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets.” We will refer to questions such as the locations of culture and their modes of expression (Bhabha); the role of the humanities and social sciences in developing a consciousness of the social body as distinct from the individual (Durkheim); the role of literature (Calvino, Lévinas); the nature of discourse and the relationship between language, discourse and society (Benveniste, Foucault); between language and literature (Bakhtine, Gauvin, Calvino); between language and power (Bourdieu); between language, desire, love and beauty (Kristeva, Cheng); between the Book and books in the elusive reinterpretation of the sacred (Finkielkraut, Sacks, Carrier); between learning and the self on the one hand and engagement, militantism and action on the other (Teilhard de Chardin, Sacks, Ricoeur).

Participants are encouraged to complete all the readings prior to each session.

Facilitator: Pierre-Yves Mocquais

Schedule: Weekly (Wednesday) 22 Jan – 19 Mar, 12:00 to 1:30 PM Eastern Time

Understanding Global Trends in Our Reading of Reality

This group will engage participants to refine and bring into better focus their readings of reality by better understanding current megatrends in society: the dominant material forces during mankind’s passage to maturity.

Trends discussed will include artificial intelligence, the struggle between authoritarianism and democracy, social media, digital currency, wealth disparities, and more.

Many reliable voices of reason have lent clarity on the nature of the diverse, yet interconnected, and rapidly evolving global trends. These voices may include but are not limited to:

Anne Applebaum, Yuval Noah Harari, Henry A Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, Craig Mundie, Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson, Katharine Hayhoe, Pablo Servigne, Melinda Gates, and Raphael Stevens.

Using visual elements and various media, in addition to readings from these voices, we will discover and seek to infuse a spiritual perspective into our understanding of the causes, interconnections, consequences, and potential benefits of these humanity-wide trends.

The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to elevate our capacities to read our reality. This will enable us to more effectively converse and work with others as we build community and confront racism, climate change, gender inequality, wealth disparities, and conflict.

The momentum, disruption, and interconnection of important global trends are taking us toward a rapidly changing world where confusion, fear, and the specter of hardship may distract or discourage us from effectively serving Baháʼu'lláh’s vision for humanity. With an enhanced ability to extrapolate our present reality into the future, we can see how our own lives may be impacted by these forces.

With better clarity when looking at the rapidly moving and seemingly chaotic flows of change around us, Baha’is will be able to shed paralyzing uncertainty in exchange for a calm eye to see opportunities in crisis and promulgate the Faith by working together with others to elevate the nobility of humankind.

By beginning to understand the nature, flow, and momentum of change, we can learn to respond proactively in the discussions we have, the actions we take, and the lives we touch. Knowledge is light and light is what we need to go forward effectively into our reality.

Participants will be asked to review material to include text, audio visual elements, studies and other media and materials prior to each session. Participants may also be asked to share examples and contribute sources that can help reinforce our learning, broaden our considerations and illustrate important points in this ongoing exploration.

Texts:

Media including publicly accessible video and audio interviews and presentations from: Anne Applebaum, Yuval Noah Harari, Henry A Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, Craig Mundie, Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson, Katharine Hayhoe, Melinda Gates, Pablo Servigne and Raphael Stevens.

Multimedia texts and interviews from these people will be based on the following texts:

Some Books that may be referenced:

Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit by Henry A Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Craig Mundie

How Everything Can Collapse: A Manual for our Times by Pablo Servigne and Raphael Stevens

The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson

Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe

Facilitator: Bill Kelly

Schedule: Weekly (Saturday) 1 Feb – 22 Mar, 8:00 to 9:30 PM Eastern Time

Interconnections Between Social Structure & Human Agency

Many fields in the social sciences take up questions about social structure and human agency, but the interconnections between them remain ambiguous. Elements of the Bahá’í conceptual framework offer guidance on this topic, saying we should avoid two sets of theories: those that are entirely individualistic and assume that social structures will change on their own, and those which assume no social change is possible unless social structures are changed first (Ruhi Institute). Key questions that motivate the formation of this group are: How can advances in human agency overcome and change social structural constraints? What characteristics or types of structures promote human agency? In what ways does Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation necessitate changes in both social structure and human agency? How have researchers and practitioners theorized the mutual influences between them? This reading group seeks to bring together those who are actively learning about dimensions of social change—whether in practice or in research—to learn about the interconnections between structure and agency. The group will take an overview approach to survey and learn about a sampling of theories and concepts that can advance our understanding. We will take up themes such as constructive agency, disintegration and integration, critical consciousness, empowerment, resilience, orders of social change, multi-level systems change, and others.

Participants are encouraged to participate for the full 90 minutes of discussion on Thursdays as well as to complete the assigned readings (around 20 pages a week) for each session so they can contribute to the discussion. The role of discussion facilitator will rotate weekly among group members.

Texts:

In addition to studying relevant passages from the Bahá’í Writings, the group will study the following texts. There will be opportunities for reading group participants to suggest additional readings and resources that are highly relevant to this topic.

- “Responding to Injustice with Constructive Agency” by Michael Karlberg and Derik Smith

- “Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities” by Eve Tuck

- Excerpts from Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin

- Excerpts from Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves by Shawn Ginwright

- Excerpts from Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Freire

- Excerpts from “Promoting a Discourse on Science, Religion, and Development” by Farzam Arbab

- Excerpts from the Structure and Agency collection by Mike O’Donnell

- Excerpts from The Causal Power of Social Structures: Emergence, Structure and Agency by Dave Elder-Vass

- Excerpts from “Transforming Capitalism through Real Utopias” by Erik Olin Wright

- Movement Generation’s Strategic Framework for a Just Transition (as a case study of one organization’s conceptual framework)

Facilitator: Shayda Azamian

Schedule: Weekly (Thursday) 23 Jan - 6 Mar, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern Time

Soul and Psyche: Virtue Development, Purpose, and the Mental Health of Youth

Our group has been seeking to understand the long-term and emerging forces impacting mental health and illness in youth, drawing on current discourses in the field, data from around the world, and the Bahá’í Writings.

In this reading group, we will focus on studying prominent research on the role that virtues and moral development have on mental health and illness in adolescents. Texts will range from conceptual psychology to neuroscience and randomized clinical trials; and themes explored include gratitude, forgiveness, development of purpose, kindness, and altruism.

Participants are expected to complete the articles of study and relevant set of Bahá’í Writings prior to each session. We would like participants to commit to attending all of the five sessions for the coherence of the discussion.

Texts:

A series of short psychological journal articles.

Facilitators: Judith Korn, Bayan Jalalizadeh

Schedule: Biweekly (Thursday) 30 Jan – 27 Mar, 8:00 to 10:00 PM Eastern Time