Dear Member of the Class of 2012:
For many years new students at Sewanee have been asked to read a particular book during the summer preceding their matriculation. In the past we have chosen either classic works, personal memoirs, poetry, fiction, and examinations of culture and history. Recent selections include:
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man,
Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac,
Fred Chappell's I Am One of You Forever,
Madison Jones' A Cry of Absence,
Gail Godwin's Father Melancholy's Daughter,
Ernest J. Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying,
Charles Fraziers' Cold Mountain,
Kent Haruf's Plainsong,
Jill Ker Conway's The Road from Coorain,
Rick Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin',
Abraham Verghese's The Tennis Partner.
Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow or The Memory of Old Jack,
Michael Frayn's play Copenhagen,
Cornell West's Restoring Hope,
Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.
The Book: This year we are continuing to require new students to read Tracy Kidder's
Mountains Beyond Mountains. Kidder offers a remarkable version of Dr. Paul Farmer's life. Farmer's humanitarian mission leads him to diverse terrain, entangled in political systems unempathic to citizen of the world with the least means. Kidder's book asks all of us to reconsider our daily lives.
The Assignment: The assignment asks student to respond to three questions (
see homework). The assignment and student responses serve several purposes. Advisors use essay responses to gauge students preparedness for college-level work. The best essays will be read during a panel discussion as part of orientation and intends to draw our entire community to consider the world around us, specifically, how all of us develop a vocation that affords our passion, gifts, and interest to intersect. Student essays should be approximately two to three paragraphs for each question and should be returned to the Office of the Dean of Students by
August 3. Preferably, essays should be submitted on the
homework page of the Sewanee Scene. If necessary, submissions can also be mailed to the Dean of Students, 735 Univeresity Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383-1000
If you have difficulty finding a copy of Tracy Kidder's book at a local bookstore or library you may purchase a copy from the University Book and Supply Store by phoning the bookstore at (800) 422-1899. If purchasing the book or finding one at a local library presents a problem, please call my office where several copies are on reserve (931)598-1229.
