The Read to Achieve Steering Committee is pleased to announce the selection of Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, edited by Alice Wong, as the Read to Achieve text for 2023-2024.
Disability Visibility is a collective anthology of short essays, interview transcripts, articles, blog posts, creative prose, and more. This text meets the Read to Achieve criteria in that it represents accurate and respectful portrayals of diverse cultures and identities, introducing UTC students to conversations in and around disability representation. Wong is an advocate for disability representation and activism. In 2020, she was named by Time magazine as one of 16 people fighting for equality in America. The committee felt that this text offers a variety of program development options and has a connection to multiple departments, as those profiled touch on a variety of interdisciplinary topics. Because the text is a series of personal stories and not a large memoir or novel, faculty can integrate portions of the work into their classes and activities. Committee members are considering a speaker series with the author and one or more of the figures featured in the book itself. If you have suggestions, please reach out to us!
SPRING SEMESTER BOOK CLUBS
We will be offering Disability Visibility book clubs this spring term for faculty and staff. Book clubs can focus on a variety of approaches: discussing book content, developing activities and events with Read to Achieve, integrating all or portions of the book into coursework. If you’re interested in leading any of these types of book clubs, please contact Dr. Jennifer Stewart (jenn-stewart@utc.edu).
Book clubs will be offered in March and April. Watch UTCINFO for date, time, and modality announcements!
The Steering Committee would like to thank the volunteers who served on the Selection Committee: Experiential Learning Coordinator Bengt Carlson, Instruction Librarian Virginia Cairns, Honors College Dean Linda Frost, Diversity and Engagement Coordinator of Projects Amy Hitchcock, English faculty Devori Kimbro, HHP Exercise Science major senior Zeckerry Mcgaughy, and Theater and Speech faculty Ashleigh Pipes. This year, the Selection Committee reviewed and discussed the 26 nominations by UTC faculty, staff, and students. After reviewing the nominations using the Read to Achieve criteria, they read the top five selections and ultimately selected Disability Visibility. We appreciate your hard work.
Yancy Freeman
Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
Jerold Hale
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs