A series of lectures by University of Arkansas 鈥� Fort Smith faculty members are slated
for the spring semester surrounding the book chosen for this year鈥檚 ReadThis!, a community
read program sponsored by the university.
In the lectures, faculty members will analyze 鈥淚nto the Beautiful North,鈥� a novel by Luis Alberto Urrea chronicling a young Mexican woman鈥檚 foray into the United States to recruit Mexican men to repopulate her hometown in Mexico. Each lecture will approach the text from different perspectives to enrich readers鈥� understanding of the work.
Dr. Christian Gerard, co-chair of this year鈥檚 ReadThis! committee, said the novel 鈥渋s a book that reminds us why we fell in love with reading to begin with.鈥�
鈥淚n 鈥業nto the Beautiful North,鈥� Urrea embraces the tradition of storytelling with deft craft and respect for the tradition of writing,鈥� Gerard said. 鈥淗e tells a story that is accessible, readable, and enterable by the reader so that we may delight in his use of language itself as his language lives inside of us, asking each of us to consider ourselves as individuals, as humans, as citizens in communities whose boundaries are not always as firm as we'd like to believe. As we invest in this story, we are reminded that we're also investing in ourselves and our own stories that we make and remake as we grow.鈥�
The lectures are free and open to the public. Scheduled faculty lectures include:
Feb. 22: Dr. Christian Gerard, 鈥淐rafting Place鈥檚 Place-ness,鈥� 12-1:30 p.m., room 122 of Boreham Library.
March 8: Dr. Ann-Gee Lee, 鈥淲omen鈥檚 Language and Power,鈥� 12-1:30 p.m., room 122 of Boreham Library.
March 15: Amanda Schafer, 鈥淎t the Intersection of Culture and Experience: Pop Culture, the Internet, and Identity,鈥� 12-1:30 p.m., room 122 of Boreham Library.
April 19: Dr. Cammie Sublette, 鈥淐uisine and Culture,鈥� 12-1:30 p.m., room 122 of Boreham Library.
April 26: Dr. Rosario Nolasco-Schultheiss, 鈥淚nto the Beautiful South,鈥� 12-1:30 p.m., room 122 of Boreham Library.
A lecture by Dr. Laura Witherington, titled 鈥溾�業nto the Beautiful North鈥� and National Identity,鈥� was also given Feb. 7.
Previous books chosen for the Read This! program are 鈥淗ouse Made of Dawn鈥� by N. Scott Momaday, 鈥淭he Joy Luck Club鈥� by Amy Tan, 鈥淭he Things They Carried鈥� by Tim O鈥橞rien, 鈥淭he Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time鈥� by Mark Haddon, and 鈥淭rue Grit鈥� by Charles Portis.
For more information about this year鈥檚 ReadThis! program, contact Gerard at 479-788-7560 or Christian.gerard@uafs.edu.
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