2024-25 U of I Common Read kickoff event set for Oct. 16
October 11, 2024
MOSCOW, Idaho 鈥� This year鈥檚 果冻传媒麻豆社 Common Read kickoff event is 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the Bruce M. Pitman Center Vandal Ballroom.
The 2024-25 Common Read selection聽is 鈥淭he Anthropocene Reviewed,鈥� a collection of personal essays by John Green. English professor Erin James聽will give the keynote address at the event, which is free and open to the public.
In the introduction to his book, Green writes that humans are 鈥減owerful enough to radically reshape the Earth鈥檚 climate and biodiversity, but not powerful enough to choose how we shape them.鈥� The essays in 鈥淭he Anthropocene Reviewed鈥� press on this contradiction and explore the ways Green鈥檚 鈥渟mall life runs into the large forces of the Anthropocene鈥� in an attempt to 鈥渇all in love with the world鈥� in crisis.
鈥淚n this Common Read kickoff event, we鈥檒l first explore the concept of the Anthropocene together, as well as the various ways that our own lives run into and participate in its large forces,鈥� James said. 鈥淲e will then work together, following Green鈥檚 model, to fall in love with the world by reviewing different facets of our human-centered planet.鈥�
James studies how we access new worlds through literature to foster positive environmental change. Combining narratology and ecocriticism into a theory she calls econarratology, she believes this approach to literature can help solve tough environmental problems.
Her debut book, 鈥淭he Storyworld Accord: Econarratology and Postcolonial Narratives,鈥� dives into the fusion of ecocriticism, postcolonialism and narrative theory, earning accolades like the International Society for the Study of Narrative鈥檚 Perkins Prize for Best Book in Narrative Studies. Her second book, 鈥淣arrative in the Anthropocene,鈥� further explores storytelling鈥檚 role in the climate crisis.
In addition to 鈥淭he Anthropocene Reviewed,鈥� which was the Goodreads Choice winner for nonfiction in 2021 and an instant No. 1 bestseller, Green is the author of five novels, including the 2012 breakout success 鈥淭he Fault in Our Stars,鈥� which was adapted into a movie in 2014. His most recent novel, 鈥淭urtles All the Way Down,鈥� was published in 2017.
Now in its 17th year, the Common Read is designed to engage the university and Moscow community in a unified intellectual activity. First-year students will be assigned to read the book as part of their studies. 鈥��
Other recent Common Reads have included 鈥淓ducated: A Memoir,鈥� by Tara Westover, in 2018; 鈥淭here There,鈥� by Tommy Orange, in 2019; 鈥淭he Book of Unknown Americans,鈥� by Cristina Henriquez in 2020; 鈥淕rit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance,鈥� by Angela Duckworth, in 2021; 鈥淪o you Want to Talk About Race,鈥� by Ijeoma Oluo, in 2022; and the 鈥淭he Nature Fix,鈥� by Florence Williams, in 2023.
鈥�
Media Contact
Barb Kirchmeier
Director of General Education and Independent Study in Idaho
208-885-9258
barbara@uidaho.edu
About the 果冻传媒麻豆社
The 果冻传媒麻豆社, home of the Vandals, is Idaho鈥檚 land-grant, national research university. From its residential campus in Moscow, U of I serves the state of Idaho through educational centers in Boise, Coeur d鈥橝lene and Idaho Falls, nine research and Extension centers, plus Extension offices in 42 counties. Home to more than 12,000 students statewide, U of I is a leader in student-centered learning and excels at interdisciplinary research, service to businesses and communities, and in advancing diversity, citizenship and global outreach. U of I competes in the Big Sky and Western Athletic conferences. Learn more at uidaho.edu.