Chapter 6
UNCW’s Common Reading Experience
The Synergy Common Reading
Experience provides:
Emphasis on academic
expectations and
intellectual engagement
A powerful,
meaningful, and
FUN learning
experience
Involvement in and
out of the
classroom
A common
experience with
peers and faculty
Opportunities for
self-reflection and
critical thinking
Program Description
Campus-wide,
Freshman-focused
program
Curricular
Connections
Freshmen get
copy at
orientation
First-Year
Seminar
Events related
to book and
themes in Fall
All faculty
encouraged to
use in courses
Upper-class
students and
faculty and
staff
Book Selection Criteria
The Synergy Committee considers characteristics such as:
Potential to engage students and spark passionate discussion
Appeal to wide range of students
Possibilities for classroom use among various departments
Relevance to student life (coming of age, diversity, identity, etc.)
Richness of themes; interdisciplinary in nature
Possibilities for campus programming
Critical Reading is . . .
ACTIVE
FOCUSED ON INTERPRETATION
EVIDENCE-DRIVEN
AWARE OF CONTEXT
SOPHISTOCATED
MEANINGFUL
Fall 2011 Selection
“A compassionate telling of an American
tragedy.” – Susan Larson, The Times-Picayune
“A poignant, haunting, ethereal story about
New Orleans in peril.” – Douglas Brinkley, The
Great Deluge
“A major achievement and Dave Eggers’ best
book yet.” – Andrew Ervin, The Miami Herald
Zeitoun is the first Synergy book to be
recommended by a student.
Themes and Topics More than Hurricane Katrina
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Natural disaster preparedness
and relief
Government response to
disaster
Immigrant experience
Multiculturalism
Prejudice and stereotypes
Religion and religious tolerance
Civil liberties and the legal
system
Social justice and human rights
Social responsibility
Post 9/11 America
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Values and morals
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Family
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Sense of home and community
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Work ethic
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Sacrifice
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Perseverance
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Human displacement / Diaspora
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New Orleans – history, culture,
and resurgence
Synergy Website
http://www.uncw.edu/commonreading/ •Program Information •Book and Author Info. •Reading Resources •Event Schedule •Recommendations