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| BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge’s One Book One Community and LSU’s Summer Reading Program will hold their signature events in upcoming weeks on campus. On Thursday, July 31, author of One Book One Community selection, “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust,” Immacule Ilibagiza will address community readers at 7 p.m. during a free public event at LSU’s Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes. On Friday, Aug. 22, LSU’s Summer Reading Program selection, “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, will be discussed at Academic Convocation at 9 a.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The event isopen to the LSU community and includes discussions with Reza Pirbhai, LSU assistant professor of history, and Lillian Bridwell-Bowles, LSU Communication across the Curriculum director. Students from University High School and Dutchtown High School have also been invited to attend. Following the speakers, students will join break-out groups to discuss “Persepolis” with their classmates and LSU faculty members. One Book One Community One Book One Community’s “Left to Tell” is Ilibagiza’s memoir about surviving the Rwandan holocaust when the Hutus began genocide over the Tutsi in 1994. To escape from the slaughter, Ilibagiza and seven other women sought refuge for 91 days in a benevolent Hutu pastor’s house. “‘Left to Tell’ is a powerful story of a young woman who survived the Rwandan genocide because a pastor risked his life to hide her and a couple of other women in a concealed bathroom in his home. The author speaks about her faith in God as getting her through the ordeal, but I think it is a wonderful tale about the selflessness of her host,” said Barbara Apostolou, Ernst and Young Alumni Distinguished Professor of accounting at LSU, who has read both book selections. Ilibagiza has appeared on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” and her story has been made into a documentary titled “The Diary of Immaculée.” In addition, she has been recognized with numerous humanitarian awards including The Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace in 2007 and American Legacy’s Women of Strength & Courage Award. One Book One Community is a community-wide reading program, covering nine parishes surrounding the Greater Baton Rouge area. The program, which kicked off on June 7 by Mayor-President Kip Holden, creates a citywide book club that aims to use a common reading experience as the motivation for the intellectual and cultural exchange of dialogue and ideas in order to raise awareness and visibility about a relevant global or community issue. One Book One Community organizing sponsors include Baton Rouge Community College, East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Forum 35, LSU, Hay House Inc., Redstick Internet Services, Southern University and YWCA Greater Baton Rouge. Other sponsors include 225, Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, Country Roads, Cox Communications, Clear Channel Radio, Friends of LPB, WRKF, Barnes & Noble and Starbucks Coffee Company. LSU’s Summer Reading Program The selection of “Persepolis” marks several firsts for LSU’s Summer Reading Program, now in its fifth year. The book is a graphic memoir combining text and black and white sequential art to relate the story of growing up in revolutionary Iran. “‘Persepolis’ is edgy, engaging and smartly written and drawn,” said Jan Edwards, LSU senior in English. “The graphic novel form represents the story’s complexities in a readable and relatable way, despite the fact that the actual story took place halfway around the world decades ago.” The graphic novel is LSU’s first selection to focus on the Middle East, the first to be created by a female author and artist and the first to be transformed into an animated film, allowing students to compare and contrast reading and viewing experiences and to discuss the connections and tension between visual and verbal literacies. “‘Persepolis’ is a great read,” Apostolou said. “The author weaves a tale through words and imagery that draws the reader to experience the world through her eyes. Even a casual reader will be absorbed by her story and creative expression.” LSU’s Summer Reading Program is a means of introducing entering freshmen to the academic and intellectual culture of the university through a common reading experience. LSU is one of more than 30 universities in the nation that begins the academic year with a program surrounding a summer reading assignment. LSU Summer Ready Program sponsors include Office of Academic Affairs, Centers for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Office of Student Life & Academic Services, LSU Student Government, LSU Foundation, LSU Bookstore and Paw Prints. LSU began its program four years ago, when the freshman class read “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.” In the second year, students read “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World.” The following year, students read “Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered he was Black.” Last year, students read “Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City.” Not Just Summer Reading Numerous events are planning for the upcoming months for those who read “Left to Tell” and/or “Persepolis.” In addition to the author’s address and convocation, other events include television programs, discussion groups at libraries and bookstores and showings of film adaptations. Many LSU faculty members will be incorporating the books in their classes this fall, including Apostolou’s Honors 2000 course. “Both books tell stories of their contemporaries who survived challenges and then thrived in the aftermath of the disaster. Both address issues of global significance: genocide and political unrest/upheaval,” she said. “The world is bigger than Baton Rouge, and both books are a real glimpse of the world community in which we live.” More information and schedules of events can be found at http://www.readonebook.org/ or http://www.lsu.edu/srp/. -30- |
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