If there is one thing this year\u2019s University of Alaska Southeast freshmen have in common it\u2019s a single book. It\u2019s called \u201cMixed,\u201d a collection of essays written by undergraduates about life as a multiracial college student. The book is part of the university\u2019s One Campus, One Book program where all incoming freshman are assigned a common book that will be used in class and lecture discussion throughout their first year.<\/p>\n
The book\u2019s value goes well beyond another selection on a freshman\u2019s reading list, or an item for a class review and mid\u2010term paper. It\u2019s used for broad, yearlong ongoing talks crossing multiple classroom disciplines. In reading \u201cMixed,\u201d students essentially hear from their peers who attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The students who produced the essays may not fit \u201csquarely in a known racial category.\u201d The book gives UAS professors flexibility of assigning the entire book or selected essays, then migrate to recommended readings.<\/p>\n
Elise Tomlinson, UAS regional library director at Egan Library, said the selection is well\u2010timed and well\u2010placed. \u201cIt\u2019s very relevant because there is a lot happening on our campus \u2014 it\u2019s happening all around the country \u2014 to try and address issues of social justice,\u201d Tomlinson said. \u201cOf course, many don\u2019t know this, but our school sits on indigenous lands. The fact that we are looking at issues related to colonialism on our campus. We are trying to deal with these bigger concepts and have difficult discussions. This is one way the books bring students together while they learn something about themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nSelection process<\/strong><\/p>\n A three\u2010person selection committee chooses books based on several guidelines such as: how well the book matches program goals \u2013 integration into curriculum; reaches interdisciplinary perspectives; commensurate to freshman reading level; the book won\u2019t have likely been a high school assignment; it\u2019s available in paperback and thus affordable under increasingly shrinking university budgets.<\/p>\n The three\u2010person panel features committee chair Jonas Lamb, assistant professor of library science; Lisa Richardson, assistant professor of education; and Richard Simpson, assistant professor of humanities.<\/p>\n Work already is underway for next year\u2019s selection. Richardson, now in her third year with the university said the process begins by whittling down a list provided by publishing companies, who work nationally with universities on common book programs. Recommendations also come from students and faculty. Once the committee has reduced the list to a workable number, each member reads between five and seven books and brings recommendations back to the committee for final section.<\/p>\n Richardson said the program reflects a national trend to address tough \u2014 and often divisive \u2014 discussions that start with a common book title. \u201cI think there is a consistent benefit,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cWe see it across the nation, having these shared literary experiences. A shared experience around any kind of text is key among faculty, staff and students. A text that can ground people in a common conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n Even as Richardson teaches graduate work, the book value has reach greater than a freshman class of about 175 students. In the spring semester she plans to include \u201cMixed\u201d in her graduate student curriculum.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, where I am with my students, this is accessible,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cEven though this is about undergraduate experiences, this is still interesting to them. It gives them a way to look at how they might have tough conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n Program origins<\/strong><\/p>\n The program began in 2010 under supervision of former library faculty Wendy Girven, looking to create a shared experience for incoming freshman. At the time many university librarians worked with book publishers to increase reading beyond traditional textbooks on college campuses. Tomlinson said former Chancellor John Pugh found money to fund the program. After two successful years, it was folded into the university\u2019s library budget and oversight.<\/p>\n The first book was \u201cListening is an Act of Love\u201d by David Isay. Since then titles have ranged from a rare fiction selection, John Steinbeck\u2019s \u201cLog from the Sea\u201d in 2014 to \u201cBlonde Indian: An Alaska Native Memoir,\u201d a local favorite written by UAS faculty Ernestine Hayes. \u201cBlonde Indian\u201d went on to become a selection for the inaugural statewide Alaska Reads.<\/p>\n Other titles include: \u201cAt the Mouth of the River of Bees\u201d by Kij Johnson; \u201cBeing Caribou\u201d by Karsten Heur; \u201cThe Truth About Stories\u201d by Thomas King. The readings include activities that bring the freshmen as well as other students, faculty and community members, together for discussion.<\/p>\n Christina Gomez, one of three editors of \u201cMixed, will be on campus early November to help drive that discussion. While at UAS, she will visit several classes She gave a talk on undocumented students at the university\u2019s Power and Privilege Symposium, and delivered a keynote lecture on this year\u2019s theme, \u201cNegotiating Identity in America\u201d at the Egan Library.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If there is one thing this year\u2019s University of Alaska Southeast freshmen have in common it\u2019s a single book. It\u2019s called \u201cMixed,\u201d a collection of essays written by undergraduates about life as a multiracial college student. The book is part of the university\u2019s One Campus, One Book program where all incoming freshman are assigned a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":30923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-30922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30922"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=30922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}