Decision on the way for new frosh reading

It's now up to the faculty and students to decide which pages the Class of 1997 will turn next summer. An ad hoc committee of the Reading Project has narrowed the list from more than 100 books nominated by faculty and committee members to 10 works. The committee -- composed of faculty from all four undergrduate schools and two undergraduate students -- will mail letters and advertise in campus publications within a few weeks soliciting responses to the choices. The candidates are: Strange Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Job from the Bible, The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong-Kingston, The Copernican Revolution by Thomus Kuhn, The Maeno by Plato, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Lincoln at Gettysburg by Gary Wilis, The Prince by Machiavelli, and Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. English Professor Peter Conn, head of the committee, called the present list a "very cosmopolitan and very diverse list of texts which represent a variety of traditions and a wide variety of genres." "There is fiction and non-fiction, political theory and the history of science texts from all over the world from past to present," he continued. "I think it's a strong selection of books." Electrical Engineering Professor Sohrab Rabii, a committee member, said the choice of text should "speak to the process of self discovery and self-definition" at a time when students are "in the process of finding themselves." And Rabii said he believes the Reading Project "gives a common experience to the particular class" which is essential to the "core of development at the University." The committee will meet in mid-March to make the final decision on next year's book. Rabii said they are still deciding whether to form the reading groups according to residences or advising groups and they are also developing ways to "maximize the numbers who read the text and participate in the workshops." Last fall, only about half of the the current freshman class attended the Reading Project workshops to discuss The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Later in the spring, the committee will recruit approximately 150 faculty from all areas of the University to serve as discussion leaders.