Good question!
Every year, the college selects a book that features important themes or perspectives to be the "Common Read." That book is then read by a large portion of the Mount Holyoke community, especially first year students, and provides the basis for a variety of classroom discussions and campus events over the course of the year. This year, the book selected is Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, edited by Alice Wong.
From the information page about the Common Read (which also features a list of past Common Reads):
The Common Read is designed to give students new to Mount Holyoke College their first intellectual dialogue based on a shared text. These students start to explore the selected text during Orientation and continue the discussion into their fall classes and throughout the year.
Open to the entire College community to read and discuss — staff on campus and alumnae groups across the country discuss the book, for instance — the Common Read sets the tone for the community. It helps collectively frame discussions for the upcoming academic year.
Current and prospective students, faculty, staff, alumnae and trustees are invited to participate.
Book DescriptionOne 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. Activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
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.
About the Editor, Alice Wong
Alice Wong (she/her) is a disabled activist, writer, media maker, and consultant. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. Alice is the editor of Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, an anthology of essays by disabled people and Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today, an adapted version for young adults. Her debut memoir, Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life is available now from Vintage Books. Disability Intimacy, her next anthology, will be out in 2024. Twitter: @SFdirewolf.
Guided Reading Questions
Additional Resources
In this part of the guide, we have made note of several resources that we think are useful companion pieces to the work presented in the book; that said, it should be noted that the Further Reading section of Disability Visibility includes a rich and extensive list of resources that you are invited to read, view, or listen to if you would like to continue learning about this subject.
In addition, we know that a list like this can never be fully complete, and we invite suggestions for addition to this list. We will do our best to update the resources shared here regularly for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Campus Events
The most prominent Common Read event this fall will be Alice Wong's visit to campus on September 7. Information about that and other events will be shared through the usual college channels (Embark and the Events Calendar) as they become available!
