The Honors Read

Each year, starting in 2002 with the Class of 2006, incoming Honors College students have been presented with a copy of the year's Honors Read either at New Student Orientation in June or through the mail.  While being asked to read a text over the summer before coming to college is not always viewed in a positive way, the Honors Read provides a common experience for each of these more than two hundred students coming to UMaine from across the state, across the country, and across the world. It is the first common text for this cohort, introducing new students into the nature and structure of the Honors curriculum.  The Honors Read serves as the basis for a discussion in the first general session of these students’ Honors journey, and it informs subsequent discussions and explorations throughout the four-semester Civilizations sequence.

The Honors Read (for the class entering two years after) is chosen each Spring by a eight students enrolled in Honors 309: The Honors Read Tutorial facilitated by the Dean of The Honors College.  They consider texts nominated by members of the University community, narrow the candidates first down to eight books, then proceed to carefully analyze and evaluate each text based on criteria they have developed.  The deliberation on each text includes consideration of reviews written by members of  the tutorial and a discussion with the nominator of the text.  The final three weeks of the course are devoted to deliberations focused on reaching a consensus on the next Honors Read and crafting a letter to the incoming students which accompanies each copy of the book

The Honors Read 2007 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

The Honors Read 2006 War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges

Excerpts from the letter of transmittal written by the students who chose the text:
We chose this book after carefully considering eight texts themselves selected from seventeen nominations.  We were looking for a well-written book that had universal appeal, relevance to the Honors curriculum, and was important in the current global context.   War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning met these criteria, and in addition, it engendered lively discussion.  We trust that it will do the same in your Honors preceptorials.

 We hope, as you read this book over the summer, it will provide an engaging and provocative introduction to the Civilizations sequence, the first-two years of Honors classes.  Hedges provides an alternative perspective on one of the most pervasive phenomena in the history of civilization, war.  Bringing together a philosophical education and personal journalistic experience, he is able to examine war in human terms.  While some of the accounts in War Is a Force are unsettling, we found this book to be compelling in that it addresses questions just as important now as in the four thousand years spanned by the Civilizations sequence.

 Much of Hedges’ narrative focuses on the conflicts in the Balkan region.  This period of history is somewhat complex.  We suggest you check out the one-page chronology found at http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/Kosovo/Kosovo-Chronology12.htm.  Other information can be found elsewhere on the internet as well as in the references found in the text.  Of course, the ideas discussed in War Is a Force are relevant in a broader context as can be seen from his discussion of the Middle East and Central America along with other events happening worldwide.

The Honors Read 2005 Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee

Excerpts from the letter of transmittal written by the students who chose the text:
Waiting for the Barbarians is the best choice for several reasons.  To begin with, it is a wonderfully written and engaging book.  The story brings up moral, ethical, and philosophical issues that you will deal with throughout your Honors experience.  Finally, J.M. Coetzee’s Nobel Prize for Literature attests to his skill as a writer and chronicler of the human condition. 

The Honors curriculum includes texts which involve important ideas and ethical considerations.  This makes Waiting for the Barbarians an ideal book to use as at the outset.  Moreover, the Honors curriculum focuses on the development of civilization.  This book, taking place in an unnamed outpost on the border of an unnamed empire, could have happened, or could happen, anywhere in the world.  You will not find it difficult to relate this text to world events. 

 It is appropriate to warn you that the text includes graphic descriptions.  A few scenes in Barbarians may be unnerving, however, we strongly feel that Coetzee’s use of violence is not gratuitous. 

 The beauty of Waiting for the Barbarians is that it can be interpreted in different ways; one can analyze the book in terms of diverse, and perhaps conflicting, themes.  Bring Barbarians to your first Honors class with your thoughts and ideas and an open mind.  Learning to analyze and interpret books, and to share perspectives, is the essence of the Honors College curriculum.

The Honors Read 2004 Living Downstream by Sandra Steingraber

Excerpts from the letter of transmittal written by the students who chose the text:
Living Downstream, written by biologist and ecologist Sandra Steingraber, addresses the issue of environmental awareness in a narrative that elegantly blends scientific documentation with personal interludes.  This book offers the reader a variety of ideas to consider, from safety concerns about our environment to ethical issues of pesticide manufacture, testing, and control.  How much circumstantial evidence must accumulate about the toxicity of a chemical before it is decisively declared unsafe? What can the average person do about the environment?  Living Downstream doesn't provide all the answers, but we hope it will engage you in the questions.

In addition to the questions posed within the text itself, class discussions have a way of uncovering broader issues of presentation, bias, and what we like to call the "end goal" (or, "what's the author REALLY trying to say here?").  This book, which explores the prevalence of cancer-causing agents in our environment, was written by a cancer survivor.  What impact might her personal experience with the disease have on her writing or research? Does it strengthen or weaken her argument? Is the goal of scientific objectivity damaged by the author's own experiences?  Does another side of the story exist that Steingraber's account omits?  Considering these questions might enrich your experience with the book.

Among the criteria for the Honors Read are universal appeal, readability, and potential for discussion and controversy.  Many of our books met most or all of these requirements, and choosing among them was difficult.  We also highly recommend Accordion Crimes, written by E. Annie Proulx, and Mapping Human History by Steve Olson.  The first of these is a fictional account focusing on the immigrant experience. The second is a genetic survey of human migration.  Both of these received high praise.  As is apparent, our decision involved a lot of "apples vs. oranges" comparisons.

In the end, we chose Living Downstream because of the immediacy of its issues, the accessible blend of science and story, and the opportunities for discussion it provides.  We hope that you find it as enjoyable a read as we did, and that you find it a worthy introduction to the Honors College.

The Honors Read 2003 Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Excerpts from the letter of transmittal written by the students who chose the text:
We looked for books with qualities like universal appeal and readability as well as books that say something important and that raise or discuss a controversy.  We have determined that Guns, Germs and Steel exemplifies these qualities. The book serves as an excellent introduction to the Honors sequence, Civilizations: Past, Present, and Future.

The idea behind the Honors Read is to create a common place for your class to commence the Honors Curriculum. We hope that sending this book to you over the summer provides a common and immediate place from which to begin a comprehensive discussion of some of the most important themes with which Honors deals: How should we live in society?  How do societies form and evolve? What is the relationship between society, art, science, and technology?  How does history inform the present, and how does the present inform our view of history?

In addition to these general questions, we have composed a few starter questions specific to Guns, Germs, and Steel.  We hope they help to get you thinking critically about the book.  Diamond certainly makes an argument about how human societies have evolved, but is there a moral component as well?  Some critics have argued that Diamond is simply a geographic determinist C that is, he believes the development of a society is based completely on its environment.  In addition, Guns, Germs and Steel does not examine psychological and social theories behind human actions.  How would Diamond respond to these arguments?  We hope that these questions will give rise to more personally meaningful questions.  We encourage you to discuss these questions with your Honors peers upon your arrival to campus. 

The Honors Read 2002: Honeymoon in Purdah by Alison Wearing

Excerpts from the letter of transmittal written by the students who chose the text:
Honeymoon in Purdah by Alison Wearing is our choice for the Honors Read 2006. We chose this book for many reasons, but two in particular stand out.  First of all, it's a great book. It is easy to relate to Wearing's experience as she takes you with her on her eye-opening journey through Iran. Second, the book makes you think. 

Iran is part of what President George W. Bush termed the "axis of evil." Wearing's portrayal of Iranian culture and people provides a different perspective. We are not attempting to criticize or condone either view — or even suggest that they are incompatible. This is something we hope you will be able to think about on your own while reading this book.

Before your year at the University of Maine begins, please read this book and begin to contemplate what it means to you. Know that your classmates are also reading the book  — expect to discuss and debate its contents when you arrive. And most importantly, enjoy.

Other books nominated for the Honors Read include

The University of Maine Class Book

The success of the Honors Read is built on a ten-year tradition at The University of Maine, the Class Book.  Between 1992 and 2002, the Faculty Senate, in consultation with the Department of English, chose a book to be read, both in English 101 and wherever it would inform the curriculum, by all first-year students.  Serving as an intellectual focus for the campus, the Class Book was a great experiment, the passing of which saddened many of us on campus.  In many ways, the Honors Read was designed to reproduce the energy and excitement of the Class Book project.

2001-02    Hearts in Atlantis (Stephen King)
2000-01    The Color or Water (James McBride)
1999-00    A Midwife's Tale (Laurel Thatcher Ulrich)
1998-99    Lies My Teacher Told Me (James Loewen)
1997-98    The Ecology of Commerce (Paul Hawken)
1996-97    I,Rigoberta Menchú (Rigoberta Menchú)
1995-96    The Things They Carried (Tim O'Brien)
1994-95    The Disuniting of America (Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.)
1993-94    Lying (Sissela Bok)
1992-93    Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes (Stephen Jay Gould)

Thank you for visiting our web site and for your interest in The Honors College at The University of Maine. As with any work- in- progress, we appreciate your indulgence as we work out the bugs. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about this site, please contact Charlie Slavin.

This page was last updated on 18 September 2007 10:41 AM -0400

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