Updated June 14:
The Campus Community Book Project has announced its 2024-25 title selection, and with it is inviting the university community to spend the next academic year discussing the physical toll of systemic injustice.
The next book project title is Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society, by Arline T. Geronimus, a professor at the University of Michiganâs School of Public Health. It is part of this yearâs theme, health equity and justice, and will guide discussions, lectures and other events, culminating in a campus visit by the author on March 5.
âMarginalized Americans are disproportionately more likely to suffer from chronic diseases and to die at much younger ages than their middle- and upper-class white counterparts,â . âDr. Arline T. Geronimus coined the term âweatheringâ to describe the effects of systemic oppression â including racism and classism â on the body. In Weathering, based on more than 30 years of research, she argues that health and aging have more to do with how society treats us than how well we take care of ourselves.â
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GET INVOLVED
- (Read more information about the commitment below)
- Questions or comments can be sent to the Campus Community Book Project organizers by email.
The book project organizers will sponsor many more events in the months leading up to Geronimusâ visit to campus, and students, faculty, staff and community members are all invited to help plan those events by . The committee will meet virtually every two or three weeks from June to September.
A âhopefulâ book
Laci M. Gerhart, an assistant professor of teaching in the Department of Evolution and Ecology and a member of the selection committee for the Campus Community Book Project, said this yearâs selection has a âhopeful and solution-focused toneâ and finds similarities in issues faced by different populations.
âFor this selection, we wanted a book that highlighted the particular health equity issues that burden some populations or demographics over others while also selecting a book that would be relevant and relatable to our diverse audience of readers,â she said.
This is the 23rd title in the Campus Community Book Project, a series of deep, meaningful discussions first started in the aftermath of 9/11 as a means of promoting conversation around a common subject, sharing all perspectives respectfully, in accordance with the .
have included mental health, gun violence, disability issues, immigration, food insecurity and more.
Following yearâs topic
Campus Community Book Project organizers are also looking ahead to 2025-26, when they will plan events around the theme of belonging. That theme is fitting, given that 2025 is the 35th anniversary of the first signing of the Principles of Community, a document focused on the right of every member of our community to belong, regardless of their beliefs, background or identity.
Members of the book projectâs selection committee are now accepting nominations for titles related to belonging â nominations can be sent via email until July 24, and short explanations of why the book is being suggested are encouraged but not required.
The selection committee is also soliciting new members, and .
ML Farrell, a longtime selection committee member who retired in 2022 from her position as director of alumni engagement with the School of Medicineâs Office of Development and Alumni Relations, said serving on the group has been very rewarding.
âItâs terrific each year to see long-time committee members and meet new folks, who all bring a variety of perspectives to our reading and review of nominated books â and to our deliberations to reach a final, short list of our top choice books,â she said. âIâve found the theme and book selected each year to be truly timely and thought-provoking. The book has always provided ample food for thought and opportunities for discussion and real exchange of ideas.â
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Cody Kitaura is the editor of Dateline °”TV and can be reached by email or at 530-752-1932.