Common Reader and FYC
Current Text
2025-2026: When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America by Kevin F. Adler and Donald W. Burnes
Past Texts
2024-2025: Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret by Catherine Coleman Flowers
2023-2024: Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong
2022-2023: How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America edited by Sara Sinclair
How does a Common Reader relate to First Year Composition (FYC)?
All English 1010 and English 1011 courses will incorporate a Common Reader text into the course in some meaningful way. Each Common Reader text is used in ENGL 1010/1011 because of its:
- Relevance to first-year students, current society, or local community
- Accurate and respectful portrayals of cultures
- Potential to spark lively discussion
Are the Common Reader texts used in all FYC classes? Only used in FYC classes?
The Common Reader books are required to be used in English 1010 and 1011; however, we encourage instructors to incorporate the text in the other FYC classes if doing so fits their syllabus, course plans, and pedagogy.
Are there campus events related to the Common Reader text?
Yes, each year the Steering Committee works to develop and host events related to the book. For instance, they've hosted movie screenings, speaker events, and each year the Composition Program holds a Writing Showcase. Check MocSync for related events.
I still have questions. Who do I contact?
Contact Dr. Jenn Stewart or Prof. Tiffany Mitchell