We’ve held several enlivening and enjoyable events in our Reading Room over the past year or two, since “coming back” to school following the closures necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s good to be back in person. But we have also experimented with new hybrid styles of events afforded by technology such as Zoom now in wide use within our extended communities. With individuals’ varying needs, and geographic heterogeneity of students in online degree programs, the need for welcoming all into our space is more crucial than ever. We were delighted to partner with the History department at Union Theological Seminary to host the first-ever “History Happy Hour” facilitated by Prof. Julie Lillis and Prof. Simran Jeet Singh.
The idea was to create a space where online and in-person participants could both learn from facilitators and socialize together, forging collective understanding and engagement with the subject matter. Naturally, we invited Dr. Lillis to be the focus of our attention, in celebration of two recent events: first the publication of her book Virgin Territory: Configuring Female Virginity in Early Christianity (fascinating, the history of the construction of such an important concept) and second, her recent reception of the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network’s Educational Resource Prize for her syllabus, “Genders and Sexualities of Early Christians.”
The discussion was quite lively — especially considering we practically invented a new style of hybrid configuration for the occasion! With online participants joining via Zoom and projected onto the big screen in the library’s “Terrace Room” on the main floor, the in-person folks gathered around our long table where we could wave at our online colleagues, but the two groups could not hear each other (the library does not have audio setup for such organic hybrid meetings yet). But we planned for that and incorporated several avenues for the two groups to engage and interact, such as keeping the Zoom chat on the screen for all to read and providing a live note-taking document for participants to share reactions and record their favorite ideas from the evening. The first half of the hour featured remarks from Dr. Lillis, a conversation between her and Dr. Singh, and appearances by each of their children. (Dr. Lillis’s daughter’s proposed hand-drawn cover art for Virgin Territory was a popular segment!) Following these conversations, the groups split for a “happy hour” (wine and hummus platters for the in-person guests, and cuisine delivery gift cards for those participating online). We set up a kiosk where in-person folks could approach the Zoom space for a few minutes at a time. That way the entire room’s volume wouldn’t disturb the virtual room, and those participating in-person could intentionally choose when they wanted to spend some time with their online colleagues. This setup was a “prototype,” but all seemed to approach the novel design with enthusiasm. We would happily collaborate on such hybrid festivities again in the future. -CB