May

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What are people in the Roger Williams University community reading? The From the Nightstand team asks which books are on people’s nightstands—either being read, or waiting to be read.

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Dr. Kamille Gentles-Peart

Current Reads: These days, Gentles-Peart’s reading is split between research and leisure. “The books on postcoloniality and resistance inform my current book project on how immigrant women from the English-speaking Caribbean navigate/negotiate neo-imperialistic spaces. On the other hand, for leisurely reading, I do have a predilection for books set in cultures and historical times that are removed from my everyday reality.” She is intrigued by societal mores/norms, how people live, speak, dress, and conduct themselves in other cultures and times. “I am particularly fascinated by the Victorian era royal courts and upper-class social life.”

Upcoming Reads: “I’m just looking for books that can teleport me to a different time and culture . . . Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has some fascinating novels that should be good reads.”

Memorable Reads: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez, Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent, and Snow Flower and The Secret Fan by Lisa See. “These books, in their own way, transport me to other times and places, and give insight into the other ways that people live(d). On the simplest level, they satisfy my anthropological curiosity, but they also demystify peoples and cultures, and help to further challenge the ‘otherness’ that is often ascribed to cultures that are unfamiliar.”

Essential Reads: "The Help by Kathryn Stockett accurately captures history and some modern issues as well. Where the Girls Are by Susan Douglas dives into the subject of women’s images in mass media."

Dr. Kamille Gentles-Peart has been on the Communication faculty since 2007.

Interview conducted by Zachary Mobrice

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