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Common Reading Program Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement

Common Reading Book for 2018-19 “Soonish” Explores Future Technologies

makhani
Soonish: ten emerging technologies that'll improve and/or ruin everything, by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith.

Soonish: ten emerging technologies that'll improve and/or ruin everything, by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith.Soonish: ten emerging technologies that'll improve and/or ruin everything, by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University announced that its 2018-19 common read for first-year and other students is Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything.

Published by Penguin Random House in 2017, it is written by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. Kelly is a bioscientist, adjunct faculty member at Rice University, and natural-science podcaster. Her husband, Zach, is a cartoonist and creator of the popular geek webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. His work adds new dimensions to her text in Soonish.

The 10 different technological developments explored in the book examine what may be coming “soonish.” » More …

WSU Common Reading presents David Shier on “Being Human Virtually” March 21

makhani

March 16, 2018

PULLMAN, Wash.–David Shier, associate dean of the Honors College at Washington State University, will present “Being Human Virtually” at 7:00 p.m. Wed., March 21, in Todd 130, hosted by the Common Reading Program. The lecture is free and open to the public. https://commonreading.wsu.edu/.

The lecture develops topics Shier taught in his fall Honors course, “Me, Myself, and AI.” » More …

MIS Professor Robert Crossler presents “Data Pitfalls in a Digital World: Protect Yourself” Mar. 6

makhani

PULLMAN, Wash.—Robert Crossler, assistant professor of Management Information Systems, will present “Data Pitfalls in a Digital World: Protect Yourself” at 4:30 p.m. Tue., March 6, in CUE 203, hosted by Washington State University’s Common Reading Program. The lecture is free and open to the public.  https://commonreading.wsu.edu/

In this presentation, Crossler will consider the ramifications of putting personal data on the Internet, and what individuals can do to be protected from related hazards. He will also provide insight into various career opportunities, across a variety of disciplines, emerging to address these data challenges. » More …

WSU Common Reading presents Kimberly A. Houser on the legal consequences of VR and AI Feb. 26

makhani

February 22, 2018

Pullman, Wash.­–­­­­­­­ Kimberly A. Houser, a technology attorney and WSU business law professor, will present “Legal Issues with Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence” at 4:00 p.m. Mon., Feb. 26, in CUE 202, as part of WSU’s Common Reading Program. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Houser researches and presents on the legal aspects of new technologies and privacy law. She made national headlines in fall of 2017 for her study examining ways that the IRS is breaking privacy laws by mining data from social media and public data pools. In this presentation Houser will talk about how the fast-paced developments in the largely unregulated fields of VR and AI lead to gaps in the law. » More …

Black Key Clue for Phase 5

daniel.rieck

“Your journey is almost complete.
But now you face the most difficult challenge of the Black Key.
Are you ready? Then let’s begin:
Go to the Pullman campus building
named after the university president whose tenure in office was the greatest number of years.
Once there, find the portrait
of this president somewhere in the building.
Found it? Good. Now notice how
many blue stripes are on the left sleeve of his clothing.
Go to the floor of this building
that is the same number as the stripes.
Got there?
Now, find the beings with green
locks which are close to the geographic center of this floor.
There is an quote near the beings.
Visit Black Key Form 5.1 on the common reading OrgSync page to enter that quote.”
 
(Note: enter only the last, bottommost line of the entire quote.)

Jan. 29: Transformational power of undergraduate research is topic of talk by Shelley Pressley

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PULLMAN, Wash.—Shelley Pressley, director of the Washington State University Office of Undergraduate Research, will present “Leveling up with undergraduate research” at 4:10 p.m. Mon., Jan. 29, in CUE, 203, the Common Reading Program has announced. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Pressley’s office advocates helping students undertake research with a mentor—often a faculty member—from the freshman year forward. The experience can transform students’ time and academic experience at WSU, she said. Currently, evidence indicates that 26 percent of WSU seniors have engaged in research. » More …

Technology and humanity topic of Jan. 23 Common Reading lecture by Deborah Compeau

makhani

PULLMAN, Wash.—The Washington State University Common Reading Program hosts “Do we manage technology, or does technology manage us?,” a lecture by management information systems professor Deborah Compeau, at 4:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 23, in CUE 203. This free event is open to the public.

There are many ways in which we both manage and are managed by technologies, said Compeau. From social technologies that draw us in, to artificial intelligence technologies that replace human decision-making, we are confronted by a world where technologies increasingly challenge our agency. » More …

Black Key Clue for Phase 4

daniel.rieck

“In the long cold of a Pullman
winter it is important to conserve resources.
One important resource to be conserved is money.
This January and February, in
Phase 4, lets talk about money, jobs, and other such resources.
You can take it with a grain
of SALT, or you can accept the Handshake, but we’re doing things
a little different this time.
We are going to reward your knowledge
with some important resources.
Make your way through the history
and culture of WSU to unlock help for your financial future.”
 
Once you know the official name of Jim Dine’s cor, visit this website on CougSync to tell us, and we will shake your hand.

Video Games, Campus Culture, and Identity topic of Nov. 28 Common Reading Lecture

emma.epperly

“The Privilege to Play: Video Games, Campus Culture, and Identity,” a Washington State University Common Reading Program lecture by professor David Leonard at 5:00 p.m. on Tues., Nov. 28 in Todd 116. The event is free and open to the public.

This talk will examine how both video games and universities sell “experiences” that not only privilege and empower certain identities and experience, but also sell a world that erases, obscures, and finds pleasure in an imagined “Other.” Both games and college create worlds of tourism, selling not simply an experience of fun and excitement but one in which joy and pleasure are derived through particular understandings of race, gender, sexuality.

Highlighting the ways that video games and America’s historically white colleges and universities create experiences that center the needs and pleasure of white male gamers/students, this talk focuses on how these experiences feed off dominant racial and gendered stereotypes.

» More …

Cybersecurity and Privacy topic of Nov. 7 Common Reading Lecture

emma.epperly

“Cybersecurity and Privacy in 2017 and Beyond,” a Washington State University Common Reading Program lecture by Professor Adam Hahn at 4:30 p.m. on Tues., Nov. 7 in CUE 203. The event is free and open to the public.

Hahn is an assistant professor of computer science in WSU’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He will cover the current state of cybersecurity and privacy and explore our use and dependency on technologies. The challenges that this technology creates and cybersecurity concerns of the future will also be topics of discussion.

Hahn’s research focus includes cybersecurity risk modelling and metrics. He received his doctorate of philosophy in computer engineering from Iowa State University in 2013.

» More …