What’s the role of publications in community-building? How have black publications helped shape the possibilities of political and cultural engagement for their readers? How do various media — books, textiles, videos, sculpture, painting — offer different ways of existing within and reimagining the world around us? Join the Black Studies Reading Room at Tufts University for a workshop and public reading dedicated to the world-making capacities of black publications.

The Black Studies Reading Room is a monthly conversation on black lit, art, and ideas, organized by Jovonna Jones, PhD candidate in African & African American Studies at Harvard University. Jones will host the discussion within Steffani Jemison and Jamal Cyrus’s “Bookworks” exhibit installation, “Alpha’s Bet Is Not Over Yet.”

“Bookworks” is a wide-ranging exploration of the practice of artist-made books, drawing on the contemporary artists’ books and special collections at Tufts. It is on view at the Tufts Art Galleries through December 15.