Newswise — The practice of requiring entering freshmen in liberal arts programs to complete a common summer reading assignment is not new to higher education. More unusual, though, is asking future nurses and engineers to begin their college careers in such a manner.
The University of Virginia's schools of Nursing and Engineering and Applied Science each start out the academic year not with science or mathematical boot camps, but with discussions of a carefully chosen book centered in their respective disciplines. This year's selections both have a historical slant; the future nurses will read "The Year of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks, set during the Black Plague in medieval England, while the future engineers will take on Alfred Lansing's "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage," which chronicles British explorer Ernest Shackleton's abortive 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole. School of Nursing
The 90 students entering U.Va.'s School of Nursing in late August will bring at least two things in common: a desire for a career in nursing and the experience of having read Brooks' book.
For nearly a decade, the school's undergraduate program committee, in collaboration with faculty advisers, has chosen a book available in paperback that addresses a health care problem that presents the perspective of health care providers as well as the patient, and/or family and community. This year's novel takes place in a medieval village in England during the plague and deals with issues of public health, complementary and alternative therapies as well as cultural aspects of the impact of the plague.
The students will discuss the book in their first group meeting with faculty advisers. The common experience provides a welcome to the school as well as to the profession and also offers an experience the students share and can talk about together. "The Year of Wonder" touches on some of the themes and topics they will encounter throughout their academic experience and beyond — death and dying; social, political and spiritual issues related to health and health care; and the broader issues associated with the spread of infectious disease, matters that they will encounter in today's heath care environment in dealing with SARS, AIDS, tuberculosis and the anticipated flu pandemic.
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Alfred Lansing begins "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by describing the abandonment of the Endurance as it is crushed by shifting polar ice, leaving Ernest Shackleton's crew marooned in an inhospitable environment. While entering first-year engineering students might have some empathy for Shackleton's crew, having just watched their family vans slip into the sea of traffic departing U.Va.'s Grounds, the purpose of reading the book is really to explore the themes of technology versus nature and the building of effective teams, said Petra Reinke, professor of materials science and engineering, who chairs the common reading experience committee.
U.Va.'s Engineering School has assigned a common text since 1993. Ideally, the books should be available in paperback, relatively short, engaging, have literary value, and offer multiple themes for discussion, Reinke said. Past titles include "Brave New World," by Aldous Huxley; "Rocket Boys," by Homer Hickam Jr.; and "Ender's Game," by Orson Scott Card.
Students attend faculty-led discussion groups on the Monday after move-in weekend, and the vast majority have completed the reading.
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