Common Reading Program

The common reading program is designed to foster intellectual engagement and participation for all members of the NDMU community through a shared experience.

What is Common Read?

All students, faculty, and staff read the selected literary work and participate in various opportunities throughout the academic year to engage in scholarly inquiry, broaden and deepen their understanding and responsiveness to social problems, promote dialogue and interdisciplinary exchanges, and seek opportunities to put the new learning into action.

Faculty members integrate the common read into each course for the academic year, inviting the student to explore the same piece of work through multiple lenses, an approach consistent with the liberal arts tradition.

2023-24 Selection: Year of the Tiger

Year of the Tiger book cover

Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life is a fearless memoir about Alice Wong's experience as a disabled person and disability politics in the United States. Her latest book offers a righteous and powerful vision for the future.

Author Presentation

Alice Wong cannot travel due to her disability. She will present virtually on October 24, 2023. Join us for a presentation at 7:00 p.m. in the Knott Science and Innovation Center, Auditorium.

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Book Selection

The entire campus community is encouraged to submit nominations for the common reading each September. An interdisciplinary group consisting of faculty members, staff, and students review the nominations and feedback and select the piece of work based on the following criteria:

Consistent with the mission of the University
Raises issues related to gender and global perspectives
The topic is broad enough for the widest range of disciplines to apply their specific approaches to the exploration of the piece of work and to provide an infrastructure for interdisciplinary inquiry and discussion
Accessible for first year students in terms of interest and level of academic difficulty
Lends itself to related activities such as service experiences, artistic projects, residence hall activities, etc.
A reasonable chance that the author would be able to visit campus

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