The format has been very successful, with people making new friends, finding out what they have in common, as well as comparing notes on favourite cakes. I’ve had some fascinating discussions with people from different religions, nationalities, ages and lifestyles. We’ve differed on some issues and agreed on others, but the experience changes you - and in ways it’s not always possible to quantify or even articulate.
What is especially exciting about Peace of Cake for me is
(a) that it fits perfectly with an extensive body of research from social psychology; and
(b) that it’s the kind of event that we can hold in libraries (read on for more information)!
(a) that it fits perfectly with an extensive body of research from social psychology; and
(b) that it’s the kind of event that we can hold in libraries (read on for more information)!
What does research show about mixing with people different from us?
First, some technical terms:
Intergroup contact is social interaction between members of different social groups. We are all part of many groups, such as our gender identity, our ethnic background, our nationality, our faith (or lack of), which football team we support, our politics, our education, our job, whether we are parents or not, and so on. There are some groups that we may never get the chance to have a real conversation with, and it’s easy to pre-judge people or invoke lazy stereotypes when that happens.
Intergroup contact is social interaction between members of different social groups. We are all part of many groups, such as our gender identity, our ethnic background, our nationality, our faith (or lack of), which football team we support, our politics, our education, our job, whether we are parents or not, and so on. There are some groups that we may never get the chance to have a real conversation with, and it’s easy to pre-judge people or invoke lazy stereotypes when that happens.
Ingroups and outgroups:
We tend to spend our time with our ingroup, the people who are like us, rather than outgroups (people different from us). (Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “Birds of a feather flock together”?) It can feel like more effort, or we can lump people from an outgroup all together and over-generalise.Intergroup contact theory
Over sixty years of research from all across the world, with many different social groups, has shown that having positive, meaningful contact with people different from us has so many good outcomes. It makes us less likely to use stereotypes, less afraid of them, we trust them more, we like them more, we have more empathy, we see ourselves in each other, and it’s even good for our health! The effects are as strong as the effect of smoking on heart disease. And guess what? Friendship is the best form of intergroup contact.So how does it work?
Intergroup contact also works best when groups have equal status, shared goals and institutional support. Having everyone bring along a cake (and helping with the clearing up!) can create those first two conditions. Institutions can include local government, schools, places of worship, and libraries! All Lewisham libraries are designated “Safe Havens” where everyone can feel safe and accepted, and we embrace diversity and social integration.
Mixing is challenging
It can be challenging to mix with people who are very different from us. We have to listen, not judge, try to take on others’ perspective, focus on what we have in common without ignoring difficult and divisive issues. We may have to put aside our needs to change people’s minds, to be right, to feel superior, to talk too much. But the Peace of Cake supporters say it’s worth it! People come back for more and more Peace of Cake events, which is great because the next step is building friendships, the most powerful form of intergroup contact, rather than just having one-off conversations.
A library event
You can follow Peace of Cake on Facebook, Twitter or on their blog.
Rachel New
Lewisham Libraries Outreach Officer, former member of The Oxford Centre for the Study of Intergroup Conflict in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, and Peace of Cake supporter
Books
With your library card you have access to over 13,000 digital books including eaudiobooks and comics. You can access these through a computer as well as through apps you can download to your phone or tablet.
How the World Thinks
A Global History of Philosophy, 2019.
In the first global overview of philosophy, Julian Baggini travels the world to provide a wide-ranging map of human thought. One of the great unexplained wonders of human history is that written philosophy flowered entirely separately in China, India and Ancient Greece at more or less the same time. These early philosophies have had a profound impact on the development of distinctive cultures in different parts of the world. What we call 'philosophy' in the West is not even half the story. Julian Baggini sets out to expand our horizons, exploring the philosophies of Japan, India, China and the Muslim world, as well as the lesser-known oral traditions of Africa and Australia's first peoples.
Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch, 2018.
The Sunday Times bestseller that reveals the uncomfortable truth about race and identity in Britain today You're British. Your parents are British.
Your partner, your children and most of your friends are British.
So why do people keep asking where you're from?We are a nation in denial about our imperial past and the racism that plagues our present. Brit(ish) is Afua Hirsch's personal and provocative exploration of how this came to be - and an urgent call for change
The Sunday Times bestseller that reveals the uncomfortable truth about race and identity in Britain today You're British. Your parents are British.
Your partner, your children and most of your friends are British.
So why do people keep asking where you're from?We are a nation in denial about our imperial past and the racism that plagues our present. Brit(ish) is Afua Hirsch's personal and provocative exploration of how this came to be - and an urgent call for change
All Russians Love Birch Trees
by Olga Grjasnova, 2014.
Set in Frankfurt, 'All Russians Love Birch Trees' follows a young immigrant named Masha. Fluent in five languages and able to get by in several others, Masha lives with her boyfriend, Elias. Her best friends are Muslims struggling to obtain residence permits, and her parents rarely leave the house except to compare gas prices. Masha has nearly completed her studies to become an interpreter, when suddenly Elias is hospitalized after a serious soccer injury and dies, forcing her to question a past that has haunted her for years.
by Olga Grjasnova, 2014.
Set in Frankfurt, 'All Russians Love Birch Trees' follows a young immigrant named Masha. Fluent in five languages and able to get by in several others, Masha lives with her boyfriend, Elias. Her best friends are Muslims struggling to obtain residence permits, and her parents rarely leave the house except to compare gas prices. Masha has nearly completed her studies to become an interpreter, when suddenly Elias is hospitalized after a serious soccer injury and dies, forcing her to question a past that has haunted her for years.
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
by Kelli Estes, 2015.
The smallest items can hold centuries of secrets...
In 1886, Mei Lien is washed up on Orcas Island, the lone survivor of a cruel purge of the Chinese from Seattle. She is determined to tell her heartbreaking story the onlyway she knows how: through needle and thread. A century later Inara Erickson, enlisting the help of a local professor, uncovers details in Mei Lien's delicate stitching that could have far-reaching repercussions for her own life. Should she bring shame to her family and risk everything by telling the truth, or tell no one and dishonor Mei Lien's memory?
by Kelli Estes, 2015.
The smallest items can hold centuries of secrets...
In 1886, Mei Lien is washed up on Orcas Island, the lone survivor of a cruel purge of the Chinese from Seattle. She is determined to tell her heartbreaking story the onlyway she knows how: through needle and thread. A century later Inara Erickson, enlisting the help of a local professor, uncovers details in Mei Lien's delicate stitching that could have far-reaching repercussions for her own life. Should she bring shame to her family and risk everything by telling the truth, or tell no one and dishonor Mei Lien's memory?
Anatomy of a Disappearance
by Hisham Matar, 2016.
In Egypt, Nuri, a teenage boy, falls in love with Mona - the woman his father will marry. Consumed with longing, Nuri wants to get his father out of the way - to take his place in Mona's heart. But when his father disappears, Nuri regrets what he wished for. Alone, he and Mona search desperately for the man they both love. Only for Nuri to discover a silence he cannot break and unimaginable secrets his father never wanted him to know.
26a
by Diana Evans,2009.
Identical twins, Georgia and Bessi Hunter, live in the loft of 26 Waifer Avenue. It is a place of beanbags, nectarines and secrets, and visitors must always knock before entering. Down below there is not such harmony. Their Nigerian mother puts cayenne pepper on her Yorkshire pudding and has mysterious ways of dealing with homesickness; their father angrily roams the streets of London, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing.
Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Their elder sister Bel discovers sex, high heels and organic hairdressing whilst the twins prepare for a flapjack empire. It is when the reality comes knocking that the fantasies of childhood start to give way. How will Georgia and Bessi cope in a world of separateness and solitude, and which of them will be stronger?
by Diana Evans,2009.
Identical twins, Georgia and Bessi Hunter, live in the loft of 26 Waifer Avenue. It is a place of beanbags, nectarines and secrets, and visitors must always knock before entering. Down below there is not such harmony. Their Nigerian mother puts cayenne pepper on her Yorkshire pudding and has mysterious ways of dealing with homesickness; their father angrily roams the streets of London, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing.
Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Their elder sister Bel discovers sex, high heels and organic hairdressing whilst the twins prepare for a flapjack empire. It is when the reality comes knocking that the fantasies of childhood start to give way. How will Georgia and Bessi cope in a world of separateness and solitude, and which of them will be stronger?
The Beekeeper of Sinjar
by Dunya Mikhail, 2018.
In The Beekeeper of Sinjar, the acclaimed poet and journalist Dunya Mikhail tells the harrowing stories of women from across Iraq who have managed to escape the clutches of ISIS. Since 2014, ISIS has been persecuting the Yazidi people, killing or enslaving those who won't convert to Islam. These women have lost their families and loved ones, along with everything they've ever known. Dunya Mikhail weaves together the women's tales of endurance and near-impossible escape with the story of her own exile and her dreams for the future of Iraq. In the midst of ISIS's reign of terror and hatred, an unlikely hero has emerged: the Beekeeper. Once a trader selling his mountain honey across the region, when ISIS came to Sinjar he turned his knowledge of the local terrain to another, more dangerous use. Along with a secret network of transporters, helpers, and former bootleggers, Abdullah Shrem smuggles brutalised Yazidi women to safety through the war-torn landscapes of Iraq, Syria, and Eastern Turkey. This powerful work of literary nonfiction offers a counterpoint to ISIS's genocidal extremism: hope, as ordinary people risk torture and death to save the lives of others.
Hold
by Michael Donkor,2018.
Moving between Ghana and London, Hold is an intimate coming-of-age novel.
Two girls, two different worlds, one unexpected friendship.
Belinda is everything a good Ghanaian housegirl should be. Diligent and uncomplaining, she knows exactly how to follow the rules.
Amma has never been a great one for rule-keeping. And when her parents meet Belinda on a visit from England they suspect she might be just the shining example their wayward teenager daughter needs.
So Belinda must leave behind her old life and travel to London to befriend a girl who shows no desire for her company. But in this bewildering city, surprises are waiting down every bus route, and when the cracks in Amma's defences open up, the secrets they have both been holding onto are brought into the light.
by Michael Donkor,2018.
Moving between Ghana and London, Hold is an intimate coming-of-age novel.
Two girls, two different worlds, one unexpected friendship.
Belinda is everything a good Ghanaian housegirl should be. Diligent and uncomplaining, she knows exactly how to follow the rules.
Amma has never been a great one for rule-keeping. And when her parents meet Belinda on a visit from England they suspect she might be just the shining example their wayward teenager daughter needs.
So Belinda must leave behind her old life and travel to London to befriend a girl who shows no desire for her company. But in this bewildering city, surprises are waiting down every bus route, and when the cracks in Amma's defences open up, the secrets they have both been holding onto are brought into the light.
Happiness
By Aminatta Forna, 2018.
A breathtaking novel from Orange Prize-shortlisted and Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning author Aminatta Forna LONGLISTED FOR JHALAK PRIZE 2019 Waterloo Bridge, London. Two strangers collide. Attila, a Ghanaian psychiatrist, and Jean, an American studying the habits of urban foxes. From this chance encounter in the midst of the rush of a great city, numerous moments of connections span out and interweave, bringing disparate lives together. Attila has arrived in London with two tasks: to deliver a keynote speech on trauma and to check up on the daughter of friends, his 'niece', Ama, who hasn't called home in a while. It soon emerges that she has been swept up in an immigration crackdown - and now her young son Tano is missing. When, by chance, Attila bumps into Jean again, she joins him in his search for Tano, mobilizing into action the network she has built up, mainly from the many West African immigrants working London's myriad streets, of volunteer fox-spotters: security guards, hotel doormen, traffic wardens. All unite to help and as the search continues, a deepening friendship between Attila and Jean unfolds. In this delicate yet powerful novel of loves lost and new, of past griefs and of the hidden side of a teeming metropolis, Aminatta Forna asks us to consider the values of the society we live in, our co-existence with one another and all living creatures - and the true nature of happiness.
By Aminatta Forna, 2018.
A breathtaking novel from Orange Prize-shortlisted and Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning author Aminatta Forna LONGLISTED FOR JHALAK PRIZE 2019 Waterloo Bridge, London. Two strangers collide. Attila, a Ghanaian psychiatrist, and Jean, an American studying the habits of urban foxes. From this chance encounter in the midst of the rush of a great city, numerous moments of connections span out and interweave, bringing disparate lives together. Attila has arrived in London with two tasks: to deliver a keynote speech on trauma and to check up on the daughter of friends, his 'niece', Ama, who hasn't called home in a while. It soon emerges that she has been swept up in an immigration crackdown - and now her young son Tano is missing. When, by chance, Attila bumps into Jean again, she joins him in his search for Tano, mobilizing into action the network she has built up, mainly from the many West African immigrants working London's myriad streets, of volunteer fox-spotters: security guards, hotel doormen, traffic wardens. All unite to help and as the search continues, a deepening friendship between Attila and Jean unfolds. In this delicate yet powerful novel of loves lost and new, of past griefs and of the hidden side of a teeming metropolis, Aminatta Forna asks us to consider the values of the society we live in, our co-existence with one another and all living creatures - and the true nature of happiness.
The One Who Wrote Destiny
by Nikesh Shukla, 2018.
Evening Standard's Wander List Guide to 2019 Getaways "A beautiful, brilliant modern classic." Sabrina Mahfouz, Guardian, Best Summer Books 2018 Neha has just been diagnosed with the same terminal cancer that killed her mother. Was this her destiny? She codes a computer program to find out, one that intricately maps out her entire life and the lives of those closest to her: her dad, who left Kenya for windblown northern England; her brother, a struggling comedian whose star is finally beginning to rise; her grandmother, who lost the man she loved to racist violence. By understanding the past, Neha hopes to come to terms with her present - and reckon with her family's and her country's future.
by Nikesh Shukla, 2018.
Evening Standard's Wander List Guide to 2019 Getaways "A beautiful, brilliant modern classic." Sabrina Mahfouz, Guardian, Best Summer Books 2018 Neha has just been diagnosed with the same terminal cancer that killed her mother. Was this her destiny? She codes a computer program to find out, one that intricately maps out her entire life and the lives of those closest to her: her dad, who left Kenya for windblown northern England; her brother, a struggling comedian whose star is finally beginning to rise; her grandmother, who lost the man she loved to racist violence. By understanding the past, Neha hopes to come to terms with her present - and reckon with her family's and her country's future.
Drown
by Junot Diaz, 2009.
From the beloved and award-winning author Junot Díaz, a spellbinding saga of a family's journey through the New World.
A coming-of-age story of unparalleled power, Drown introduced the world to Junot Díaz's exhilarating talents. It also introduced an unforgettable narrator- Yunior, the haunted, brilliant young man who tracks his family's precarious journey from the barrios of Santo Domingo to the tenements of industrial New Jersey, and their epic passage from hope to loss to something like love. Here is the soulful, unsparing book that made Díaz a literary sensation.
by Junot Diaz, 2009.
From the beloved and award-winning author Junot Díaz, a spellbinding saga of a family's journey through the New World.
A coming-of-age story of unparalleled power, Drown introduced the world to Junot Díaz's exhilarating talents. It also introduced an unforgettable narrator- Yunior, the haunted, brilliant young man who tracks his family's precarious journey from the barrios of Santo Domingo to the tenements of industrial New Jersey, and their epic passage from hope to loss to something like love. Here is the soulful, unsparing book that made Díaz a literary sensation.
Gyppo
by Mary Margaret Doherty, 2018.
As seen through the eyes of an Irish traveller child, 'Gyppo' tells the story of Moss Side, Manchester during the 1960s and 1970s. It is a story of violence, oppression and neglect. A story of alcohol fuelled domestic abuse and of secret lives beyond the windows veiled by the pristine white net curtains.
by Mary Margaret Doherty, 2018.
As seen through the eyes of an Irish traveller child, 'Gyppo' tells the story of Moss Side, Manchester during the 1960s and 1970s. It is a story of violence, oppression and neglect. A story of alcohol fuelled domestic abuse and of secret lives beyond the windows veiled by the pristine white net curtains.
Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh, 2012.
MIKEY WAS BORN into a Romany Gypsy family. They live in a closeted community, and little is known about their way of life. After centuries of persecution Gypsies are wary of outsiders and if you choose to leave you can never come back. This is something Mikey knows only too well. Growing up, he rarely went to school, and seldom mixed with non-Gypsies. The caravan and camp were his world.
But although Mikey inherited a vibrant and loyal culture, his family's legacy was bittersweet with a hidden history of grief and abuse. Eventually Mikey was forced to make an agonising decision - to stay and keep secrets, or escape and find somewhere he could truly belong.
Mikey's amazing story is continued in the sequel Gypsy Boy on the Run.
MIKEY WAS BORN into a Romany Gypsy family. They live in a closeted community, and little is known about their way of life. After centuries of persecution Gypsies are wary of outsiders and if you choose to leave you can never come back. This is something Mikey knows only too well. Growing up, he rarely went to school, and seldom mixed with non-Gypsies. The caravan and camp were his world.
But although Mikey inherited a vibrant and loyal culture, his family's legacy was bittersweet with a hidden history of grief and abuse. Eventually Mikey was forced to make an agonising decision - to stay and keep secrets, or escape and find somewhere he could truly belong.
Mikey's amazing story is continued in the sequel Gypsy Boy on the Run.
Pigeon English
by Stephen Kelman,2011.
Newly arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister, Harrison Opoku lives on the ninth floor of a block of flats on a London housing estate. The (second) best runner in the whole of Year 7, Harri races through his new life in his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on in marker pen - unaware of the danger growing around him.But when a boy is knifed to death on the high street and the police appeal for witnesses draws only silence, Harri decides to start a murder investigation of his own. In doing so, he unwittingly breaks the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to keep them safe, and Harri will come face to face with the very real dangers surrounding him.
by Stephen Kelman,2011.
Newly arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister, Harrison Opoku lives on the ninth floor of a block of flats on a London housing estate. The (second) best runner in the whole of Year 7, Harri races through his new life in his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on in marker pen - unaware of the danger growing around him.But when a boy is knifed to death on the high street and the police appeal for witnesses draws only silence, Harri decides to start a murder investigation of his own. In doing so, he unwittingly breaks the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to keep them safe, and Harri will come face to face with the very real dangers surrounding him.
What is the What
BY Dave Eggers, 2015.
'What is the What' is an unflinching portrayal of the lives of two boys during the Sudanese civil war - one, at seven, too young to know what's happening to his country; the other, at ten, old enough to fight for the rebel army.
Valentino Achak Deng is just a boy when conflict separates him from his family and forces him to leave his small Sudanese village, joining thousands of other orphans on their long, long walk to Ethiopia, where they find safety - for a time. Along the way Valentino encounters enemy soldiers, liberation rebels and deadly militias, hyenas and lions, disease and starvation. But there are experiences ahead that will test his spirit in even greater ways than these . . .
Truly epic in scope, and told with expansive humanity, deep compassion and unexpected humour, What is the What is an eye-opening account of life amid the madness of war and an unforgettable tale of tragedy and triumph.
The Stopping Places
by Damian Le Bas, 2018.
'I needed to get to the stopping places, so I needed to get on the road. It was the road where I might at last find out where I belonged.'
Damian Le Bas grew up surrounded by Gypsy history. His great-grandmother would tell him stories of her childhood in the ancient Romani language; the places they worked, the ways they lived, the superstitions and lores of their people.
In a bid to better understand his heritage, Damian sets out on a journey to discover the stopping places - the old encampment sites known only to Travellers. Through winter frosts and summer dawns, from horse fairs to Gypsy churches, Damian lives on the road, somewhere between the romanticised Gypsies of old, and their much-maligned descendants of today
by Damian Le Bas, 2018.
'I needed to get to the stopping places, so I needed to get on the road. It was the road where I might at last find out where I belonged.'
Damian Le Bas grew up surrounded by Gypsy history. His great-grandmother would tell him stories of her childhood in the ancient Romani language; the places they worked, the ways they lived, the superstitions and lores of their people.
In a bid to better understand his heritage, Damian sets out on a journey to discover the stopping places - the old encampment sites known only to Travellers. Through winter frosts and summer dawns, from horse fairs to Gypsy churches, Damian lives on the road, somewhere between the romanticised Gypsies of old, and their much-maligned descendants of today
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Search for terms like prejudice, stereotypes, intergroup relations, social identity theory, diversity, social integration.
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