The League of Woman Voters, in cosponsorship with the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Institute for Nonprofit Management Studies, is offering a screening of a documentary film titled: “Join or Die.”

The screening will be held Monday, Feb. 12, at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library, 431 W. Center St., Whitewater, at 5:45 p.m.

The screening is free and open to the public.

According to the release, the film explores the value of joining a club, seeking to answer questions about “why and how it matters to American society.”

As stated in the release, the film examines a theory developed by Harvard University Professor Robert Putnam, which was built on a foundation of several questions, including, the release noted: “What undermines active civic engagement, its impact on democracy and what can be done about it?”

In 2000, the release states, Putnam “published the widely acclaimed book,” titled: “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.” The film is based on information shared within the book.

Within the film, viewers will be exposed to such concepts as “civil society,” and “social capital,” the release noted.

Information provided by the league notes that Join or Die is a film exploring the benefits of joining a club, and, more specifically, “why the fate of America depends on it.”

The documentary features, the information states, “a half-century of America’s civic unraveling through the journey of social scientist Putnam.

Bowling Alone, the information continues, provides “research into American’s decades-long decline in community connections,” which, the information notes, “could hold the answers to our democracy’s present crisis.”

Those attending the screening will be presented with an introduction and informative post-film question-and-answer opportunity, presented by Assistant Professor and Director of the UW-Whitewater Institute for Nonprofit Management Studies Ruth K. Hansen.

Refreshments also will be served, the release stated.

A trailer for the film, as provided on YouTube, can be viewed by clicking on the arrow below.