"Brother, I'm Dying" Author to Visit UM-Flint

The University of Michigan-Flint recently hosted a kick-off celebration of its 2011 Common Read program in the Frances Willson Thompson Library Atrium.

Edwidge Danticat's Brother, I'm Dying, her 2007 memoir that bridges Haiti and the United States, is the book being used for the program. It is a story that demonstrates the power of words to recreate worlds of both suffering and love. All members of the UM-Flint campus community are invited to participate in this shared experience through reading the book and attending events designed to offer an opportunity for discussion and reflection.

It was recently confirmed that Danticat will visit the UM-Flint campus in mid-March to join in the discussion of her work.

All members of the freshman class of 2011 received a copy of Brother, I'm Dying at orientation.  Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to read the book so that members of the campus community can share in a robust discussion during the fall semester.

The Common Read Project is a faculty-led project, in which faculty work in close collaboration with academic and student affairs. Brother, I'm Dying was selected by the 2011 Common Read Committee, which is chaired by Professor Peggy Kahn of Political Science and Aimi Moss, director of Academic Advising. The charge of the committee was to select a book that inspires intellectual curiosity, prepares students for the challenging reading that is part of a university education, and contributes to the university as a community of ideas, inquiry, and discussion. The committee also develops programming around the book's themes and issues.

"Free-standing" small-group discussions of the book will be held throughout the semester. Some of these discussions will be student-led (without faculty present), while others will be faculty-led.

Some of the discussions in the coming weeks include:

Monday, September 26 | 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | 523 French Hall
Faculty-Led:
Peggy Kahn, Political Science Department
Suzanne Knight, English Department

Tuesday, October 4 | 5:30 – 6:45 p.m. | 523 French Hall
Faculty-Led:
Alicia Kent, English Department
Aimi Moss, Academic Advising Center
Suzanne Selig, Public Health and Health Sciences

Wednesday, October 5 | 7 – 9 p.m. | Michigan Room B, University Center
Film: "Egalite for All"

Wednesday, October 12 | 2:30 – 3:45 p.m. | 523 French Hall
Student-Led:
Staci Hines
Tamera Dandachi
Liz Kish
Kenya Williams

Thursday, October 20 | 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | 523 French Hall
Faculty-Led:
Stephanie Carpenter, English Department
Judy Rosenthal: Anthropology Department

Monday, October 24 | 5:30 – 6:45 p.m. | 523 French Hall
Student-Led:
Robert Burack
Mary Robinson

Tuesday, October 25 | 5:30 – 8 p.m. | Michigan Room B, University Center
Film: "Aristide and Endless Revolution"

Thursday, October 27 | 5:30 – 6:45 p.m. | 523 French Hall
Faculty-Led:
Aimi Moss, Academic Advising Center
Suzanne Selig, Public Health and Health Sciences
Jan Worth, English Department and Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching