In anticipation of her delivery of the inaugural Rajat Neogy Lecture, Transition will be reading Maryse Condé’s iconic novel SEGU which follows generations of the Traore family in the flourishing eighteenth-century kingdom of Segu in Africa. Segu’s people, the Bambara, “are guided by their griots and priests…their lives ruled by the elements. But even their soothsayers can only hint at the changes to come, for the battle of the soul of Africa has begun.” From the East comes a new religion, Islam, and from the West, the slave trade. SEGU is deeply researched and based on actual events. Condé immediately grabs hold of the our attention, transporting us to an understudied time and place, and does not let go for five-hundred pages. You must read this book! Join us in person for lunch on Monday, April 17th at the Hutchins Center (2R) or online to discuss it. Whether you plan on attending in person or virtually, please register here at Eventbrite.