Each year since 1993, the University has selected a book for all first year students. The goal of the First Year Book Program (FYB) is to provide a shared intellectual experience for all new students along with the opportunity to discuss the book from a variety of disciplines. Courses, departmental lectures, living/learning programs and student groups all sponsor events that complement a major address by the author and/or other important visitors to campus. The Student Learning Outcomes for the First Year Book program include: Students are able to identify the main issues in the First Year Book Students understand the relationship between the issues from the First Year Book and their academic subjects Students are able to articulate a well thought out opinion on the issues raised by the First Year Book 2008 - 2009     The Office of Undergraduate Studies is pleased to present all new students with a copy of War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges. Currently a senior fellow at The Nation Institute in New York City, Chris Hedges spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. This best-selling book was a finalist for The National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. Hedges was part of The New York Times team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for the paper’s coverage of global terrorism and he received the 2002 Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism. His most recent book is Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America (Free Press, 2005). Hedges is also the author of What Every Person Should Know About War (Free Press, 2003) and American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America (Free Press) in January 2007. War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning begins with the premise that “war is an enticing elixir. It gives us resolve, a cause. It allows us to be noble" (p.3). At a time when the United States is engaged in war, author Chris Hedges offers the University community the opportunity to examine the meaning of war, to examine how wars begin and the impact war has on our national psyche. Hedges, a former war correspondent who has covered conflicts in Central America and the Sudan, uses writings from the classical period to the present day in his reflections on war. Chris Hedges on Campus: October 29, 4pm. Colony Ballroom STAMP For more on Chris Hedges: Page about Hedges in TruthDig

Faculty members interested in reviewing the book for inclusion in their courses may pick up a copy in 2130 Mitchell Building.

** First Year students will receive their copy of War Is a Force That Give Us Meaning at the Terp Market in Sunday August 31st (Grand Ballroom, STAMP) 1-3pm. After this date, students can pick up a copy at the front desk in 2130 Mitchell Building.

For more information contact Lisa Kiely (301.405.9363)
Lkiely@umd.edu

[ last updated on July 9, 2008 ]