Voices for Truth: Literature Discussion Series 2025
Second Wednesdays at 7pm
HYBRID format: both in-person and via Zoom
Discussions led by Dr. John Getz, Professor Emeritus, Xavier University and various monthly co-leaders
2025 Theme
In 2025, the “Voices for Truth” discussion series from Cincinnati’s Harriet Beecher Stowe House continues to focus on moments in American history when eloquent voices arose, often from the margins, to tell truths about social justice issues in our society.
Harriet Beecher Stowe remains our exemplar of a voice for truth. During her eighteen years in Cincinnati (1832-1850), she discovered her voice as a writer and, in 1851, decided to devote it to the anti-slavery cause. Horrified by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Stowe wrote to editor Gamaliel Bailey: “Up to this year I have always felt that I had no particular call to meddle with this subject [slavery], and I dreaded to expose even my own mind to the full force of its existing power. But I feel now that the time has come when even a woman or a child who can speak a word for freedom and humanity is bound to speak.”
The result, of course, was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the blockbuster novel that awakened many Northerners to the horrors of slavery and helped create the change of heart that inspired the Union to stand firm when the South seceded over slavery.
Besides focusing on American authors and the truths they told through literature, we’ll also consider how we can develop our own voices and enlist them in service of our own values.
In 2025, the “Voices for Truth” discussion series from Cincinnati’s Harriet Beecher Stowe House continues to focus on moments in American history when eloquent voices arose, often from the margins, to tell truths about social justice issues in our society.
Harriet Beecher Stowe remains our exemplar of a voice for truth. During her eighteen years in Cincinnati (1832-1850), she discovered her voice as a writer and, in 1851, decided to devote it to the anti-slavery cause. Horrified by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Stowe wrote to editor Gamaliel Bailey: “Up to this year I have always felt that I had no particular call to meddle with this subject [slavery], and I dreaded to expose even my own mind to the full force of its existing power. But I feel now that the time has come when even a woman or a child who can speak a word for freedom and humanity is bound to speak.”
The result, of course, was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the blockbuster novel that awakened many Northerners to the horrors of slavery and helped create the change of heart that inspired the Union to stand firm when the South seceded over slavery.
Besides focusing on American authors and the truths they told through literature, we’ll also consider how we can develop our own voices and enlist them in service of our own values.
2025 Series Schedule
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The Poetry of Robert Hayden
During Black History Month, we'll listen to the voice of African American poet Robert Hayden, who wrote profoundly about the experience and effects of slavery in the mid-twentieth century, when most Americans preferred to ignore the topic. Suggested reading: All available free on The Poetry Foundation website: www.poetryfoundation.org |
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"Was Harriet Beecher Stowe a Feminist?"
During Women’s History Month we’ll tackle the question: “Was Harriet Beecher Stowe a feminist?” by discussing selections from three different decades of her life. Suggested reading: |
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No Laughing Matter: Humor & Activism
During National Humor Month, we’ll have some laughs by discussing Harriet Beecher Stowe’s sense of humor as it emerges in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, of all places, and in a later piece she wrote for the Atlantic. Suggested reading: |
Past Series
2024: Voices for Truth Discussion Series
2023: Power of Voice Discussion Series, continued
2022: Power of Voice Discussion Series
2021: After Uncle Tom's Cabin: Black Voices for Justice Discussion Series
2020: Year of the Woman Discussion Series
2023: Power of Voice Discussion Series, continued
2022: Power of Voice Discussion Series
2021: After Uncle Tom's Cabin: Black Voices for Justice Discussion Series
2020: Year of the Woman Discussion Series
Series Sponsors
Support the work of Dr. Getz and his guests by sponsoring this series. Email Christina at friends@stowehousecincy.org to start the conversation.