Each year, one book, known as the "community text," is selected for first year students to read prior to their arrival in the fall. This "Writer as Witness" (WaW) program is an integral part of the college writing/writing studies curriculum. WRT 100, 101, 102, or 106 will have the book incorporated into their courses for the fall. The author is invited to campus to address the university community.
For more information, including resources for study and how to obtain the book through the library, take a look at the Subject Guide.
- The 2024 Writer as Witness book is Against Technoableism by Ashley Shew.
- The 2023 selection - Why Didn't We Riot?: A Black Man in Trumpland by Isaac Bailey
- The 2022 selection - Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America, by Laila Lalami
- The 2021 selection - Eloquent Rage, by Brittney C. Cooper.
- The 2020 selection - Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist, by Eli Saslow.
- The 2019 selection - The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert.
- The 2018 selection - Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild.
- The 2017 selection - We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang.
If you would like further assistance, please Ask-A-Librarian.
