Common Read
Common Read/Common World is a voluntary learning initiative based on a shared learning experience of students, faculty and community members.
The program was developed for all USA students, particularly first-year, and aims to:
- Improve understanding of differences and commonalities across the world;
- Develop more sophisticated understanding of values and ethics;
- Increase awareness of global issues;
- Gain an understanding of how to make an impact in society;
- Engage in academic discourse and critical thinking; and
- Create a sense of community among students, faculty, staff, and the greater Mobile area.
Events and speakers will be scheduled throughout the academic year. This will enable students and faculty to engage critically with the ideas and themes of the book. Common Read/Common World is a university-wide program, and a partnership between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs.
2026 - 2027 Selection Announced
The Common Read/Common World committee has announced next year's book selection, Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection, by John Green. The book details Green’s experience meeting a young man named Henry in Sierra Leone, who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Inspired by the young man he met, Green researched why tuberculosis remains the deadliest infectious disease in the world despite being curable and examined the socioeconomic factors intertwined with the infection.
Green, known for weaving biography, history and science into the engrossing narrative, takes the readers on a journey demonstrating how the past connects to the future and how local actions impact humankind locally and globally.
The book is available at the USA Marx Library. Faculty may consider including the text as an addendum to their fall course materials so it can be included in the University bookstore’s JagPack.
The Common Read/Common World Committee
The Common Read/Common World committee is made up of students, faculty and staff throughout the university. Email questions and comments to commonread@southalabama.edu.
2025 - 2026 Common Read/Common World Steering Committee
Susan Ferguson, Faculty Co-Chair
Associate Professor, Leadership and Teacher Education
Ellen Harrington, Faculty Co-Chair
Professor and Chair, Department of English
Liz Halvorsen
Assistant Director, Creative Services
Christopher Hawkins, Student Affairs Leadership Team
Director, Student Involvement, Division of Student Affairs
Josh Meredith, Student Affairs Leadership Team
Associate Director, Student Activities, Office of Student Involvement
Lisa LaCross
Associate Director, Faculty Development, Innovation in Learning Center
Heather Sprinkle
Assistant Director, Student Government Association
Morgan Taylor
President, Jaguar Productions (Student Member)
Sarah Waddell
Assistant Director, Marketing and Communications
Joy Washington
Director, Public Relations
Ellen Wilson
Associate Librarian, Marx University Library