The Common Reading nomination form for the 2022-23 academic year's book is now closed. The deadline was Monday, November 15, 2021 at midnight. You can contact kweathermon@wsu.edu if you have any further questions.
In Ready Player One, instead of attempting to address the many global issues and crises that face the world in the year 2044, society has turned to the virtual world of innovation. This semester, HD 205 students were tasked with the challenge of creating innovative solutions to address challenging issues, using videos to promote their ideas. Come see the films and innovative solutions fellow students have created—and vote to award the top presentations. Verification of attendance available. (Grey Key event)
Pullman, Wash. — The Washington State University Common Reading Program hosts “The Future has Always Been Female: Mary Shelley, Ada Lovelace, and the Origins of Science Fiction and Computing,” a lecture by Roger Whitson on Sept. 18 at 4:30 p.m. in CUE 203. The lecture is free and open to the public.
This year’s common reading book, Ready Player One, is set in a virtual world full of 80s references, geek culture, and science fiction metaphors. Whitson, assistant professor of English, will discuss the origins of science fiction and computing that began in the nineteenth century.
Pullman, Wash. — The Washington State University Common Reading Program hosts a lecture titled “Not All Video Games and the Brat Pack: AIDS Stigma from the 1980s to the Digital Age,” on Tues. Sept. 5 at 5 pm in CUE 203. Matthew Jeffries, from the Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center, will lead the discussion. This event is free and open to the public.
By Matt Jeffries (Director, Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center). While Cline portrays a rosy image of the 1980s, for many communities, the 1980s were rife with strife. In this engaging lecture, the presenter discusses the 1980s and how the LGBT community handled the HIV/AIDS crisis. Additionally, he addresses how stigmas around HIV/AIDS prevail through present day, including in digital spaces. Verification of attendance will be provided.
Submit your book nomination using our online form.
Members of the Common Reading Program Selection Committee for 2017-18 are:
The theme for books used in 2017-18 and 2018-19 is “Frontiers of Technology, Health, and Society.” All books nominated must align with this theme.
Everyone is encouraged to consider submitting the name of a good book that fits the theme and reasons why it would be the best choice for freshmen and others to read and use in classes and beyond. By providing the Selection Committee with some basic information as well as your reasons for nominating this book, you will have made a huge impact on thousands of WSU students across many campuses.
All nominations will be posted on this site within a few days of receipt.
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(Updated 11/3/16)
Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash, by Edward Humes, was selected as the 2014-15 Common Reading.
Of these nominations, “Being Wrong,” by Kathryn Schulz, was selected as the 2013-14 Common Reading book.
The Common Reading book selected for use in 2012-13 is “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”
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Check here for upcoming common reading events, including the Common Reading Program’s popular faculty- and guest-expert lecture series, film showings, and special events. As plans for each event are finalized, updated information will be noted on this page. Use the “Jump to Month” feature to explore events by month. Need a Common Reading stamp to prove attendance? Look for events that include this note: “Common Reading stamp available.” Unless otherwise stated, listed events are open to the public at no charge. |
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Hosted by the Center for Civic Engagement, this discussion will feature members of the WSU campus community who will talk about the current status of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of equal access and opportunity for all. This event is part of our campus’s 30th celebration of the work of the civil rights leader. Common Reading stamp available.
O’English said we live in an exciting and event-filled world, but it can be hard to keep up with what is going on internationally. This Common Reading lecture will discuss how and why people get news, some ways to keep up with current events, and some ways to think critically about news and reportage. Common Reading Stamp available.
Carruthers, a community organizer, writer, and advocate for racial justice and feminism, will give the free, public, keynote address during WSU’s 30th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration. Recently recognized as one of the top 10 most influential African Americans by the online journal TheRoot.com, Carruthers will speak on “Building on the Dream: Continuing a Black Radical Tradition in the Movement for Black Lives.” The MLK Community Celebration will also include the presentation of the 2017 MLK Distinguished Service awards campus and local community members who advocate for social justice. Sponsored by WSU Equity and Diversity. Common Reading stamp available
This annual interactive event provides opportunities to participate in and reflect on activities related to social justice topics. This year’s topics encompass issues related to racism, sexism, classism, abeism, and cis-genderism. Attendees should expect their visit to last about one hour; the last group each evening will begin at 8 p.m. Common Reading Stamp available.
This exhibit will showcase prominent women students at WSU. Curated by Lipi Turner-Rahman. Opening reception March 22. Common Reading stamp available.
This presentation will focus on the landmark 1972 federal legislation, Title IX, and its far-reaching effects on all areas of U.S. higher education. Title IX is a federal law that bans sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. The presenters will address the history of this legislation and its impact on our campus, such as in the areas of Student Affairs and athletics. Ashkannejhad is the assistant director of WSU’s Office for Equal Opportunity; Bradetich is senior associate director of athletics; Huskey is the interim vice president for student affairs and the dean of students; and McCoy is the deputy director for athletics. Common Reading Stamp available.
This 2013 documentary spotlights in 101 minutes the stories of nine girls from developing countries around the world overcome obstacles to obtaining an education. The film seeks to illustrate how educating these girls can transform families and communities, break the cycle of poverty, and change the fates of these women. The documentary is directed by Richard Robbins; prize-winning authors put the girls’ remarkable stories into words, and renowned actors give them voice. Watch the trailer at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJsvklXhYaE Common Reading stamp available.
Schulz, professor of electrical engineering and WSU’s First Lady, has been a keen observer of and very engaged participant, role model, and mentor in the subject of her lecture, women in STEM fields. Over the past 40 years, there have been many efforts to increase the number of women participating in STEM fields in the U.S. While progress has been made within some sub-disciplines of engineering, there continue to be challenges with the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in STEM. This talk will discuss the trends for women in STEM across the U.S. and world, as well as recent successes and continued challenges. Common Reading Stamp available.
Howell is a senior editor for the Oxford American. Her prize-winning work includes a translation of Amal al-Jubouri’s verse memoir of the Iraq War, Hagar Before the Occupation/Hagar After the Occupation. Sponsored by the WSU Dept. of English. Common Reading stamp available.
Pintak, professor in and founding dean of the Murrow College of Communication, will look at the history of America’s relationship with Islam and the world’s Muslims, the role of the media in shaping that relationship, and the way in which global politics and policy are shaping the relationship for the future. Pintak says the U.S. presidential election and the rise of ISIS mean Islam has been back in the headlines for the past two years. But the complex relationship between America and Islam is as old as the republic itself. This is a relationship that is often reduced to ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’, black & white, but in reality, there are endless shades of gray, he says. Common Reading Stamp available.
This exhibit showcases prominent women students at WSU. Curated by Lipi Turner-Rahman. Opening reception March 22. Common Reading stamp available.
Celebrating national Peace Corps Week, the Academic Success and Career Center (ASCC), part of WSU Undergraduate Education, hosts this presentation with former Peace Corps volunteers discussing their experiences. Common Reading Stamp available.
Barbara Rasco will discuss her work on WSU international development projects in Pakistan and Afghanistan, focusing on the impact of these projects on women and the issues they face. Rasco earned both Ph.D. and J.D. degrees; she is an internationally recognized authority on food safely laws and regulations, and is an expert on aquatic food products. She is the director of the School of Food Science, which is a joint program between WSU and the University of Idaho. Common Reading stamp available.
This poster session, sponsored by ADVANCE at WSU, will highlight WSU research related to gender and STEM as well as gender and academia more broadly. ADVANCE is a WSU program that works to increase and support greater diversity in the university, especially in the STEM fields. This event coincides with International Women’s Day and is open for viewing at no charge. Common Reading Stamp available.
Debbie “D.J.” Lee, an author and WSU Ombudsman, is a professor of literature and creative writing. Ray Sun is an author and professor of history. This talk will focus on memoirs (the genre of this year’s Common Reading book I Am Malala) and how they serve to give a personal voice to important global issues. Lee will share about and from a memoir she is writing that links personal challenges to her first-hand encounter with the effects of global warming in the Artic. Sun will share how memoirs provide unique and accessible sources that enable us to grasp the impact of war and genocide on societies, cultures, and individuals. Common Reading Stamp available.
Celebrating global folk traditions from Bulgaria to Brazil and Japan to Africa, this Boston-based international acappella quartet performs original and traditional music with a contemporary twist. This performance, part of the WSU Performing Arts Series, is free for WSU students with ID. For more on this group, visit womenoftheworldmusic.com. Common Reading stamp available.
A new exhibit in WSU’s Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections, “Ambitions and Intellect: Pioneering Women at WSU,” explores the stories of early women contributors at the fledgling college. It is part of this year’s events around Women’s History Month and the Common Reading book “I Am Malala.” An opening reception is planned from 3:00-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, in the MASC lobby.
This panel discussion is hosted by WSU’s Muslim Student Association as part of a series of events during Islamic Awareness Week, March 27-31. Common Reading stamp available.
Imam Azhar Subedar will provide a keynote address for Islamic Awareness Week. He is the religious advisor to the state of Florida, the spiritual director for the University of Florida, and a member of the White House Faith-Based and Community Initiative. This event is hosted by WSU’s Muslim Student Association as part of a series of events during Islamic Awareness Week, March 27-31. Common Reading stamp available.
University of California-Santa Cruz Associate Professor of Feminist Studies Arondekar’s research grows out of her interest in the figurations of sexuality, ethics, and collectivity in South Asia, especially in colonial British and Portuguese India. She is the author of For the Record: On Sexuality and the Colonia Archive in India. Her visit is sponsored by the Depts. of English, Women Studies, and Critical Culture, Race, & Gender Studies. Common Reading stamp available.
This open house and sermon is hosted by WSU’s Muslim Student Association as part of a series of events during Islamic Awareness Week, March 27-31. Common Reading stamp available.
This exhibit showcases prominent women students at WSU. Curated by Lipi Turner-Rahman. Common Reading stamp available.
This event has been CANCELLED due to illness, according to the host, the WSU Visiting Writers Series in the Dept. of English.
Dr. Asif Chaudhry, WSU Vice President for International Programs, will share a bit about his own background growing up in Pakistan, followed by a facilitated discussion in which attendees will be encouraged to ask the questions I Am Malala has raised for them—about the country of Pakistan, its culture, educational system, gender politics, and more. Common Reading stamp available.
Common Reading Stamp available.
This drop-in event will be an interactive, live demonstration intended to inform and educate the WSU community about a variety of relevant social issues. Students in HD 205, led by Mary Kay Patton, have been charged with using their creativity to engage others in better understanding a social-justice issue about which they are passionate and which links to one of the core values evidenced in Malala’s story. This project is also intended to celebrate creativity and engagement, and to honor committed action from a values platform. Common Reading Stamp available.
As we look at Malala’s activism on behalf of girls’ right to education, WSU’s Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC), hosts an exhibit focusing on student activism on our own campus in late 1968 and the 1969-1970 school year, culminating in the May 1970 student occupation of the French Administration Building and the campus strike that followed. This remains the largest and most significant student protest on the WSU campus, and the struggles of that era still color our campus and society today. Common Reading Stamp available.
Amber Morczek, a Ph.D. candidate in the WSU Dept. of Criminal Justice and Criminology, will speak about the pervasiveness of gender-based violence and its connections to I Am Malala. Morczek will focus especially on the significance of rape culture—a cultural framework that normalizes and condones violence against women. Common Reading stamp available.
WSU’s Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC), part of WSU Libraries, hosts an exhibit focusing on student activism on our own campus in late 1968 and the 1969-1970 school year. The four-month exhibit kicks off with a special opening reception. Common Reading stamp available.
This 2015 film, part of the region’s “Bollywood on the Palouse” series, is the story of an Indian Hindu man who embarks on a journey to take a mute six-year-old Pakistani girl–who was separated in India from her parents–back to her hometown in Pakistan. This “feel-good” film has been has been very popular in both India and Pakistan even though it highlights some of the regional conflicts between those countries.
Co-sponsored by the WSU College of Arts and Sciences, Honor College, Foreign Languages and Cultures, and Asia Program. Free admission. Common Reading stamp available.
Weller, clinical associate professor in the Dept. of History, will highlight all the ways—medically, scientifically, technologically, educationally, philosophically, culturally, linguistically, and economically—that the Islamic world has contributed to “Western Civilization.” He will emphasize the interdependence of all peoples and cultures historically with a view to promoting mutual understanding, peace, and cooperation through recognition of the significant heritage we share. This view suggests a fundamental redefining of the way we understand “the West” and “Islam” and their relation to one another, both historically and presently. Co-sponsored by the WSU History Club. Common Reading stamp available.
This 2015 documentary by Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won last year’s Academy Award for Best Short Documentary, her second award in that category. This film focuses on honor killing, a practice that results in the death or injury of more than 1,000 Pakistani girls and women each year, especially in rural areas. A Girl in the River tells the story of Saba, an 18-year-old girl who fell in love and eloped, and who was targeted for death by her father and uncle, but survived to tell her story. Obaid-Chinoy is expected to speak on campus on November 15. Sponsored by SEB Arts & Culture Film Festival. Common Reading Stamp available.
When she was a teenager in the Balochistan region of Pakistan, Khalida Brohi witnessed the honor killing of her friend, who had married for love. Today, she’s the founder and executive director of the Sughar Empowerment Society. That nonprofit, whose name means “skilled and confident woman,” provides Pakistani tribal women with the education, skills, and income opportunities to empower them to take a leadership role in their households, their communities, and the world. Brohi’s goal is to change the lives of one million women in Pakistan. A charismatic speaker who has addressed numerous global forums, Brohi is a significant young leader and social entrepreneur whose passion for improving the lives of women and girls is coupled with her creative leadership for doing so. Verification of attendance will be provided.
Turner-Rahman, WSU libraries and history, will present what the Qur’an advocates regarding the education of women and girls and how Muslim women study the Qur’an. The lecture will highlight ways in which limitations on girls education in the Islamic world have their roots in cultural rather than religious perspectives. Common Reading Stamp available.
Kmec, of the Dept. of Sociology, and Abu-Lail, of the School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, will highlight research in process that seeks to identify the factors that shape women’s relatively high levels of engineering participation in some predominantly Muslim countries. The speakers will describe what engineering participation by women looks like in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Malaysia, and Tunisia in contrast to that in the U.S. They will share a theoretical explanation for why participation differs across these contexts and provide a snapshot of features of these predominantly Islamic and developing countries. The speakers will also discuss their plans to study women in these countries and how their study will eventually be used to assist on-going efforts in the U.S. to attract women to engineering. Common Reading Stamp available.
Author Eileen Pollack will discuss issues facing women in STEM fields as addressed in her nonfiction work The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science is Still a Boys’ Club, followed by a panel discussion with WSU women who work in STEM fields. Sponsored by the Dept. of English and the School of Biological Sciences. Common Reading Stamp available.
A guest of the Dept. of English’s Visiting Writer Series, Pollack is an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction whose novel, Breaking and Entering, won the Grub Street National Book Prize and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice selection. She also is the author of Paradise, New York, a novel, and two collections of short fiction. Her creative nonfiction includes Woman Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull and The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still A Boys’ Club. She teaches in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the University of Michigan. This event is co-sponsored by the Common Reading Program and the School of Biological Sciences. Common Reading Stamp available.
A powerful connection between I am Malala and the experiences of WSU students is the opportunity to discover and develop they value, and then to equip themselves to turn those values into action. Robby Cooper, clinical assistant professor in the Dept. of Human Development, will lend his workshop and leadership expertise to this interactive event; students will be lead through a process of considering their own values and the processes that would enable them to act upon those values. This is event is open to students living in the south side of campus in these residence halls: Olympia, McEachern, Rogers, Gannon-Goldsworthy, Stephenson, and Stimson. (If needed, this workshop will be repeated 7:00-8:30 in the same location.) Common Reading Stamp available.
This 2015 documentary by Davis Guggenheim is an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai, the author of this year’s common reading. It portrays both the events of the book and also Malala’s life since her attack as she has continued her studies and her advocacy in Birmingham, England. Common Reading Stamp available.
A powerful connection between I am Malala and the experiences of WSU students is the opportunity to discover and develop they value, and then to equip themselves to turn those values into action. Robby Cooper, clinical assistant professor in the Dept. of Human Development, will lend his workshop and leadership expertise to this interactive event; students will be lead through a process of considering their own values and the processes that would enable them to act upon those values. This is event is open to students living in the north side of campus is these residence halls: Scott-Coman, Global Scholars, Northside, Regents, and Streit-Perham. (If needed, this workshop will be repeated 7:00-8:30 in the same location.) Common Reading Stamp available.
Laci Green was named one of the 30 most influential people on the internet by Time in 2016. A feminist activist, she has a talent for explaining difficult subjects in a straightforward and disarming way. The Women’s Resource Center is sponsoring her talk, which will focus on what we can do to dismantle rape culture and violence against women. Common Reading Stamp available.
Allen-Grant, a WSU alumna and WSU’s Peace Corp representative, will speak about her experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer and the insights that experience provided regarding the global challenges of girls and the importance of educational access. She will also share avenues for exploring Peace Corps service. Common Reading stamp available.
Stratton, assistant director of the Roots of Contemporary Issues Program and clinical assistant professor, will explore the ways in which Western media, government officials, and some academics discuss war and terror in cultural terms, thus masking the historical decisions and political agendas that have and continue to produce political terror. The dichotomy often presented to us, Stratton says, assumes that war and terror are mutually exclusive, and that war is, if not desirable, at least justified, while terrorism is never justified. An inquiry into the historical relationship between war and terror helps to complicate simplistic black and white notions of legitimate vs. illegitimate forms of violence, crucial for citizens of one of the most militarized contemporary societies. Common Reading Stamp Available.
A powerful connection between I am Malala and the experiences of WSU students is the opportunity to discover and develop they value, and then to equip themselves to turn those values into action. Robby Cooper, clinical assistant professor in the Dept. of Human Development, will lend his workshop and leadership expertise to this interactive event; students will be lead through a process of considering their own values and the processes that would enable them to act upon those values. This is event is open to students living in the central heart of campus in these residence halls: Wilmer-Davis, Stevens, Community-Duncan Dunn, McCroskey, and Honors. (If needed, this workshop will be repeated 7:00-8:30 in the same location.) Common Reading Stamp available.
Activist, journalist, and film director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will talk about her work, which focuses on a wide variety of issues in South Asia. Obaid-Chinoy’s films Saving Face (2012) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2016) each won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary, making her one of only 11 female directors to have won an Oscar for a nonfiction film. Both films document issues of violence against women in Pakistan. Her work has also been recognized with six Emmy Awards, including an International Emmy Award for her 2009 film Pakistan’s Taliban Generation. This event is sponsored by the WSU Student Entertainment Board, along with the Common Reading Program and Global Campus; it is free and open to the public. Common Reading verification available.
This 2015 documentary by Davis Guggenheim is an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai, the author of this year’s common reading. It portrays both the events of the book and also Malala’s life since her attack as she has continued her studies and her advocacy in Birmingham, England. Common Reading Stamp available.
This event will be an interactive, live demonstration intended to inform and educate the WSU community about a variety of relevant social issues. Students in HD 205 have been charged with using their creativity to engage others in better understanding a social justice issue about which they are passionate and which links to one of the core values evidenced in Malala’s story. The drop-in event is intended to celebrate creativity and engagement and to honor committed action from a values platform. Common Reading Stamp available.
The Washington State University Common Reading Program presents an encore screening of the award-winning documentary “He Named Me Malala” Tues., April 18 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Todd 116. The public is welcome at this free campus event.
The 2015 film directed by Davis Guggenheim is an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai, author of this year’s common reading book for WSU students titled I Am Malala. Yousafzai is the youngest recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for her efforts speaking out for women’s education in her home country of Pakistan. To stop the schoolgirl’s work, she was shot by the Taliban, but survived to carry on with her campaign and her own education.
WATCH A VIDEO OF HER WSU PRESENTATION
Washington State University welcomes Oscar-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy For a public address Tues., Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum. This event, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the WSU Student Entertainment Board in collaboration with the Common Reading Program and the Global Campus.
Through her Pakistani production house SOC Films, American-educated Obaid-Chinoy makes films that bring key social issues to light. Her two Academy Award winning films, Saving Face (2012) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015), focus on gender violence in Pakistan.
Her work has also been recognized with six Emmy Awards, including an international Emmy Award for her 2009 film Pakistan’s Taliban Generation.