Shane Gronholz wants to get inside of your head.
No really, it's kind of his job.
"No one can ever remember my job title," Gronholz says. "And I can't even blame them, it's a little weird."
"Current affairs specialist" isn't the most descriptive of job titles, but Gronholz saw it as the perfect opportunity to mold the job to fit the community's needs. For him, that meant connecting with locals through discussion, workshops and lectures about philosophy, politics, humanities, the media and, of course, current affairs.
"I've always believed there's an intersection between arts, culture, current events and philosophy," he says. "All of it helps us understand why people believe the things they do and why they act certain ways."
Gronholz, who studied philosophy in college, has always been interested in the subject.
"I was always a pretty inquisitive kid," he says. "My introduction to philosophy came in the form of C.S. Lewis books. It's philosophy through a theological lens. Then I took a philosophy class in college and decided that was my path."
After completing a thesis, receiving his Ph.D., and teaching philosophy at Gonzaga University for four years, Gronholz started the position with Spokane Public Library in August 2022. Since then, he's hosted programs focused on democracy, citizenship, censorship, immigration and plenty more. Having only been in the role for a year and some change, Gronholz is constantly looking for unique ways to engage the community.
The events are different from most programming on the library's calendar. Gronholz isn't necessarily teaching a class or a workshop most of the time, instead, he's facilitating discussion between community members. Fostering healthy conversations between people who may not agree with one another. Or with him.
Like philosophy, art also has a profoundly communicative function. And like the conversations Gronholz is facilitating, art is used to communicate the way people feel and what they're thinking about. Philosophy and art go hand in hand — each leaning on one another to remain purposeful and relevant as the world unfolds right before our eyes.
Conversation inspires insightful thinking and creativity from which art can be made. Discussion is an art form, and Gronholz is giving the community a blank canvas to paint upon.
"People go to the Shadle Library gardening events because we have a big gardening community here in Spokane," Gronholz says. "Sharma Shields is our writing specialist for the writing community. What is the natural constituency for current affairs? There really isn't one, so I have to find experts to help me with those discussions."
Whether that's bringing in local journalists to discuss how the media works or referencing a T.M. Scanlon book, Gronholz knows how to create chatter in a room. Chatter that could alter the community's culture.
Last October, Gronholz held his first event as current affairs specialist. The discussion featured Kimber Glidden, Boundary County's former library director who'd been harassed about "explicit content" in the library's children's section to the point she resigned.
Glidden spoke about her freedom of expression being challenged which Gronholz used to discuss society, government and personal beliefs.
SHANE GRONHOLZ
Stay up-to-date on his events at spokanelibrary.org
Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @libraryshane
"Important topics and conversations can really be a bummer sometimes," he notes. "They can be really heavy, but that's what makes them so important. There are a lot of good things going on in the world, but when the bad stuff happens, we have to talk about that, too."
This month, Gronholz has been hosting a series of free philosophy classes for beginners. A philosophy 101 course of sorts. The classes delve into basic philosophical theories and political philosophy, and serve as introductions to some well-known philosophers and their most notable works.
Gronholz says these classes are his way of sharing his expertise with the community.
"I sort of take a sunnier view of human nature than a lot of people probably do and even I think our culture is sick right now," he says. "But that's the thing about culture, no one has a lever to pull to just automatically change culture. It's this weird, unfolding, amalgam of things."
Gronholz is always interested in the civic dialogue that occurs during his events.
"So far it's been great," he says. "No one has yelled at anyone yet!"
Gronholz knows that not everyone wants to talk about the difficult stuff, but he hopes that those who attend and listen can begin to shape the culture of their community to be even a tad bit brighter.
"You do what you can do to try and make things better," he says. "So, I'm just trying to do my little part." ♦
