Washington State University Common Reading Explores Education in Palestine’s West Bank Feb. 8
http://wsunews.wsu.edu/pages/publications.asp?Action=Detail&PublicationID=24208&TypeID=1
Karen Weathermon, co-director, Common Reading Program, 509-335-5488, kweathermon@wsu.edu
Media Contact:
David Clarke, communications assistant, University College, 509-335-8070, david.h.clarke@email.wsu.edu
PULLMAN, Wash.—The Washington State University Common Reading Program will present “Jordan Valley Solidarity Project: Building Schools in Palestine,” featuring Michael Hayes, associate professor of teaching and learning in the WSU College of Education, at 7 p.m. Tues. Feb. 8, in Smith CUE 203. The event is free and open to the public.
The event is part of the Common Reading Tuesdays lecture series, that sponsors lectures and events during the fall and spring semesters on topics related to the common reading book for freshman.
This year’s book, “Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with books, not bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” is written by Montana humanitarian Greg Mortenson, and details his efforts to build schools for rural communities in the title countries. In his lecture, Hayes will describe his own upcoming project to build schools in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank region of Palestine, known for its historical and contemporary military occupation.
Hayes has traveled to Palestine since 2008 to conduct research and gather footage for a documentary film on Palestinian nonviolent popular resistance. In May, he will take a group to the Jordan Valley to work with the Jordan Valley Solidarity committee to build a school and clinic of a Bedouin community.
The Common Reading Program is part of the University College at WSU. For each of the past four academic years, the common reading program has selected and distributed to incoming freshman a common reading book that is used in classes and programming across the university.
A hallmark of the program is the annual author’s lecture. On Jan. 26 Mortenson visited campus for a student-only Q&A session and an evening lecture, “Promoting Peace through Education,” presented to nearly 3,000 students, faculty, and friends of the university.
Book nominations for the upcoming 2011-12 school year are being reviewed by the selection committee. For more information visit CommonReading.wsu.edu, or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/CommonReading.
