The Common Reading Program
The Common Reading Program was established at OU as a way for incoming students to share a common intellectual experience and to introduce them to college-level reading and writing expectations. Current and past readers have been chosen for their interdisciplinary subjects and ability to spark constructive dialogue.
Each book chosen as the Common Reader is integrated into all first-year composition courses, as the groundwork for research projects, writing activities, and in-class discussions. Students planning on taking a first-year composition course should plan on having the book read before the quarter in which they take the course.
The current Common Reader for the 2008-2009 school year is Cion by the English Department's own professor of Creative Writing, Zakes Mda.
Past Common Readers include:
- The Botany of Desire (2001) by Michael Pollan
- Autobiography of a Face (2003) by Lucy Grealy
- Einstein's Dreams (1993) by Alan Lightman
- Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America (2001) by Barbara Ehrenreich
For more information, visit the Common Reader website at the Faculty Commons