KU announces selection of 2022-2023 Common Book

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Common Book program has announced that the 2022-2023 selection is “Disability Visibility: First-person Stories from the Twenty-First Century,” edited by disability rights activist Alice Wong. This anthology of personal essays by people with disabilities explores the complexities of the contemporary disabled experience, challenges assumptions, deepens understanding and celebrates disability culture. 

With “Disability Visibility,” KU celebrates its 10th Common Book, a program that builds community among students, faculty and staff; encourages intellectual engagement through reading and discussion; and creates shared conversation about topics and issues of significance in today’s world. 

The KU Common Book Selection Committee and Steering Committee selected this anthology for its range of diverse perspectives on the lived experience of both visible and invisible disability. The book is easy to excerpt, accessible and lends itself to a variety of disciplines as it comprises personal narratives, blog posts, manifestos and eulogies as well as congressional testimony. A student member of the Selection Committee said, “This book provides a unique perspective into the disability community that we can use to raise more awareness in our classes.”

The KU Common Book program is presented through a partnership among KU Libraries, the Hall Center for the Humanities and KU Academic Success. Faculty and instructors interested in integrating the book into their courses and campus partners who wish to develop programming can request a copy. Students will receive information about acquiring the book prior to the start of the fall semester. There will be multiple opportunities for faculty and instructors to participate in discussion groups and curriculum development programs this spring. 

Plans are underway for Alice Wong to give a public talk at KU in fall 2022.

For more information, please visit the KU Common Book website.