Book Discussion
The Infidel discussion will take place Thursday, August 30, 11:30 AM in the Haas Library 5th floor meeting room. Lunch will be available.
Faculty Summer Reading 2007
At the luncheon for FY faculty on May 22, 2007, we agreed that we will try to have a common reading for the FY faculty over the summer and then regroup in August for discussion. Please post your book suggestions below or send them to Veronica for posting.
And the winner is...
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Thanks for voting! We will be in touch soon.
Voting is now closed
Results:
- Kurt Vonnegut reading. --> X
- Opening of the American Mind by Lawrence Levine -->
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel --> XXX
- Freakonomics by Steven Leavitt and Stephen Dubner -->
- Beloved by Toni Morrison -->
- Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali --> XXXXX
- 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen --> X
- The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier --> X
- Falling Man by Don DeLillo --> XX
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond --> XX
- The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman --> X
Suggestions
- something by Kurt Vonnegut. He just died and is such an important American writer.
- The Opening of the American Mind by Lawrence Levine. This book was written in 1996 in response to Alan Bloom's scandalous Closing of the American Mind. Levine's book is an examination of the history of Academic Freedom and of the challenges that the university faces today.
Common Reading --Wynn Wilcox, Fri, 25 May 2007 16:21:33 -0400 reply
My suggestions would be either Yann Martel's Life of Pi or Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics. Both have interdisciplinary and critical thinking implications. And the end of Life of Pi (no spoilers!) is just fantastic.
Common Reading -- Ingrid Pruss --Ingrid, Fri, 25 May 2007 16:59:36 -0400 reply
I recommend what I believe is Toni Morrison's greatest novel, Beloved or A. Hirsi's controversial memoir, The Infidel. Both of these texts are edgy and raise difficult, important issues.
Common Reading --Robin Flanagan, Tue, 29 May 2007 09:39:30 -0400 reply
Absolutely Life of Pi. The importance of storytelling, the importance of embracing multiple cultures and religions, and a great metaphor for the arduous transition from childhood to adulthood. I mean really arduous transition!
Otherwise, Nolen's recent book 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa, or Angier's recent book The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science.
Common Reading --Ed Hagan, Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:15:35 -0400 reply
I recommend Don DeLillo?'s new novel, Falling Man. It was reviewed by Frank Rich in the New York Times Book Review this past Sunday. It's a 9/11 novel. Right now, a recorded interview with Rich is available on the New York Times website. Here's a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/books-podcast-archive.html?ex=1180843200&en=cdcc1b4814c6d771&ei=5070 After you get there, click on May 27, 2007 to get to Rich's comments. DeLillo?'s Underworld, his previous novel, is, IMHO, the best novel of the last 15 years. I would love to read and discuss the new novel. When the Times did a survey of the top books of the last 50 years, Underworld was near the top, so I'm not alone in thinking so highly of DeLillo?. He is a first-rate novelist, and the 9/11 subject matter is apt for a first-year book.
Common Reading -- Dan Barrett --Daniel Barrett, Sat, 02 Jun 2007 16:34:11 -0400 reply
I suggest Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succed. This is his latest book, and describes many earlier societies that, he argues, collapsed at least in part because of insufficient attention to the environment. He further applies lessons learned from the past to contemporary society. I think the book is accessible even to people who do not have a lot familiarity with history.
Common Reading --BenjaminS?, Thu, 31 May 2007 15:43:16 -0400 reply
I recommend "The World Is Flat," expanded edition, by Thomas Friedman.
Scott Benjamin (BenjaminS?@wcsu.edu
Common Reading --vadengoadl, Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:01:50 -0400 reply
I recommend "Infidel" -- also, we are hoping to bring Ali to speak on October 4th.