Engaged Reading series at KU offers opportunities to connect over books
LAWRENCE – In 2024-2025, while the KU Reads: A Common Book Experience is paused, a collaborative series will offer a chance for the university and broader community to come together around shared reading.
Connecting the act of critical reading and discussion to its role in a healthy society, Engaged Reading will foster an exchange of ideas across experiences and knowledge. Each session will include discussion leaders, whose research and work spans academic disciplines and broader systems of knowledge, to promote learning and inquiry across populations at the University of Kansas. Inspired by the expansive reach of KU Reads, and curated with goals of generous and generative conversation, this series will feature excerpts and texts that offer expanded perspectives on contemporary society in the US.
The first event is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at the ECM Building and will feature the book “Ordinary Notes,” by Christina Sharpe, who recently spoke at the Hall Center for the Humanities. Discussion leaders Abe Weil, assistant professor of women, gender & sexuality studies, and A.D. Boynton, lecturer in English, will introduce ideas for conversation and facilitate dialogue among attendees. It is not necessary to have attended the Sept. 10 event with Sharpe, hosted by the Hall Center for the Humanities.
The second event will take place at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 31 and will feature the book of poetry “Time is a Mother,” by Ocean Vuong, who recently gave the Spencer Lecture, hosted by The Commons. Discussion leaders for the event include Akiko Takeyama, professor of women, gender & sexuality studies and director of the Center for East Asian Studies, and Megan Kaminski, professor of English and environmental studies, will introduce ideas for conversation and facilitate dialogue among attendees. It is not necessary to have attended the Sept. 26 event to participate.
KU Libraries has supplied 20 copies of each book in the series to the first registrants. To claim your spot at the event, email thecommons@ku.edu.
“While the KU Reads program is currently on hiatus, the Engaged Reading series offers an opportunity for the campus community to continue to participate in shared reading experiences and critical discussions about issues of importance across campus,” said Jill Becker, head of the Center for Undergraduate Engagement & Initiatives, KU Libraries. “We look forward to announcing the 2025-2026 common book in the spring semester.”
Engaged Reading events are supported by The Commons, the KU Libraries, Hall Center for the Humanities, the Spencer Museum of Art and the Institute for Policy & Social Research.