Central College reads The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for common reading program
PELLA — Central College’s community read for the fall semester is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This is the fifth year for the college’s common reading program, which unites Central College faculty, staff and new students.
What do the polio vaccine, cancer treatments and the human genome project have in common? Henrietta Lacks, a poor tobacco farmer from Virginia who died from cervical cancer in 1951 and yet, her cells live on in labs, factories, and even aboard ships launched into space. The research sprouting from her tumor cells became the foundation of modern science and lead to breakthroughs in gene mapping, cloning, fertility, diseases, and how cancer develops. But who was Henrietta Lacks? Dive into her family life, race relations during the 1950s Baltimore, ethics and more in this New York Times Notable Book of 2010 and the recipient of the 2010 Welcome Trust Book Prize.
Harriet Washington, a medical writer, will visit Central College Thursday, Sept. 15, at 11 a.m. for a convocation and Writer’s Reading at 7:30 p.m. that evening in Cox-Snow Recital Hall to present some of her latest research.
The common reading program is a joint venture between Central’s academic affairs and student life. The book reading and discussion is an introduction to students’ academic life at Central. All first-year students are asked to read the book over the summer as part of Intersections, a required first-year experience course designed to introduce students to the intellectual life at a liberal arts college. Intersections faculty from all disciplines integrate activities and discussion related to the book into classes. The initial book discussion takes place the Tuesday before classes begin, this year on Aug. 23, and is led by student orientation staff leaders.
Past books include The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Bryan Mealer.
Central College is a private, four-year, residential liberal arts college in Pella, Iowa, offering 39 majors along with pre-professional programs and advising. For more information about Central College, call 877-462-3687 or go online to www.central.edu.
