The Penn Museum invites you to unlock the human experience through literature. Join us for a unique twist on the classic book club model featuring carefully curated books with cultural connections, moderated by Penn Museum curators and special guests. A new book will be featured each month, from June through December.


Each month, Between the Lines participants will meet three times through interactive video conferencing: a kickoff, a check-in, and a concluding meeting at the end of the book. Readers are encouraged to continue the conversation and chat beyond these virtual meetings in the private Between the Lines Facebook Group. The moderator will share additional connections to the collection, supplemental readings and videos, and guiding questions through the virtual meetings and Facebook group.


June's Featured Book: "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple for the first time with what it means to be black. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.


About the Moderator: Dwaune Latimer

Dwaune Latimer is the Jean Friendly Keeper of Collections in the Museum’s African Section. Her research interests include museum anthropology, material culture studies, representation, colonialism, world’s fairs, popular culture, beadwork, and weaving.


$5 General Admission 

Register: bit.ly/36kVgNd

Learn more about the Between the Lines Book Club and see upcoming books: bit.ly/2y6QEO8


The Penn Museum is committed to making this group accessible. Limited scholarships, which include a digital copy of the book and waived registration fees, are available. Please email events@pennmuseum.org with the subject line “Between the Lines Scholarship” to express your interest.