KU Common Book
The KU Common Book program is a campus-wide initiative to engage students, faculty, and staff across the university. A new book is selected each year that fosters critical thinking, and generates opportunities for shared experiences and conversation about topics and issues of significance in today’s world. The program has three goals:
- Build community among students, faculty, and staff
- Encourage intellectual engagement through reading, discussion, curriculum, and events
- Create a shared conversation about topics and issues of significance in today’s world
The program is coordinated by the KU Libraries, the Hall Center for the Humanities, and the Division of Academic Success.
The KU Common Book 2022-23: Disability Visability
One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent — but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people.
From Harriet McBryde Johnson’s account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love.
Book synopsis courtesy of Penguin Random House.
Alice Wong will make a virtual visit to KU in the spring 2023 semester. She will give a public talk and participate in an informal conversation with students. More details to come.
Complete the following form to access an audio version of Disability Visability.