PULLMAN, Wash. – The deadline to nominate a book for the Washington State University Common Reading Program for 2013-14 is Wednesday, Oct. 3. Find books nominated so far here.
Nominations
The Common Reading website, CommonReading.wsu.edu, details the program and includes a link to the online nomination form. The form prompts people nominating to answer six questions that might help the committee determine a book’s potential effectiveness as a text used by more than 3,000 freshmen in dozens of first-year courses across diverse disciplines. Questions address:
- What makes the nominated book worthy of campus engagement
- How it connects with a broad range of disciplines
- Whether it could tie to events and speakers
-
How connections could be drawn to university research, civic engagement, and global initiatives
Numerous nominations expected
“The selection committee appreciates the number and quality of recommendations it has received in past years from students, faculty and staff, and we look forward once more to a robust listing of exceptional books to evaluate,” said Susan Poch, associate dean of the University College at WSU and co-director of its Common Reading Program.
How the Common Reading program works
The 2013-14 Common Reading book marks the seventh book and year of the program.
Books nominated are assessed by faculty and staff members on the selection committee. All books are posted on the Common Reading website. A short list is recommended to the Provost, who makes the final selection. New incoming students and their families are introduced to the book during summer Alive! orientation sessions, and faculty consider how they will incorporate topics from the book into their fall and spring courses.
In addition to its use in classes and in the Freshman Focus living-learning community that bridges residence halls and classes, WSU faculty, staff and the community are invited every year to be join the conversation with students. A wealth of extracurricular programming complements the two-semester Common Reading experience, including a number of special Common Reading Tuesdays lectures are presented by research faculty and other experts that help to introduce students to new ideas from many fields and to stimulate critical thinking. Check the Common Reading calendar on the website for up-to-date news.
Previous Common Reading books
Past selected WSU Common Reading books are:
- “Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It,” by Gina Kolata (2007-8)
- “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,” by Mary Roach (2008-9)
- “Omnivore’s Dilemma: A History of Four Meals,” by Michael Pollan (2009-10)
- “Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” by Greg Mortenson (2010-11)
- “Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines,” by Richard A. Muller (2011-12)
-
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot (2012-13)
———————————-