The Shorthorn - New OneBook A Journal for Jordan addresses issues from war, memory

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New OneBook A Journal for Jordan addresses issues from war, memory

Written by Alysia R. Brooks, The Shorthorn staff

Tuesday, 26 January 2010 06:30 PM

This year�s �One Book�, common reading for all incoming freshman and faculty, is �A Journal for Jordan� by Dana Camedy. The story focuses on the impact of the Iraqi War on a family. (The Shorthorn: Raziq Brown)

Representing the theme of remembrance, the OneBook/Conversations Committee has chosen a book for the 2010-11 OneBook program. The book, A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor, is authored by Pulitzer Prize-winner and The New York Times journalist Dana Canedy.

In 2006, Canedy’s fiancé, Army 1st Sgt. Charles Monroe King, died in Iraq.

King kept a journal for their infant son, Jordan. The book includes excerpts from the journal with Canedy’s own memoirs of her relationships with Monroe and their son, her work as a journalist and her experiences with a loved one away at war.

Committee Co-Chair Dawn Remmers mentioned student interest as a determining factor in the OneBook/Conversations committee’s choice of this book.

“A Journal for Jordan was a book that the committee liked for various reasons. It has themes we thought would speak to a wide variety of students,” she said.

In addition to dealing with the issues of women and war, the book also covers African-American history and culture, 9/11, geopolitics and the biology of memory.

First-year English director Margaret Lowry attributes the selection of the book to the relevancy of the issues it represents.

“We’re at war in two countries. I think that’s a unique issue to UT-Arlington because we do have so many students who are in the military, who are former military, or who have family serving overseas,” she said. “It gives us a way into this discussion not only about the wars themselves, but also this issue of family, of community, of remembrance.”

The university’s OneBook program was created to encourage critical thinking and a sense of community among first-year students. All incoming freshmen study the OneBook text for their composition classes along with having the opportunity to attend interdisciplinary events and exchanges.

English senior Courtney Gamage is a transfer student and was not required to participate in the OneBook Program, but found out about it from a poster.

“I actually saw a sign up for a book called The History of Love, and it looked really interesting, so I ended up reading the book, and I loved it,” she said.

Biomedical engineering freshman Elester Williams participated in the OneBook program and considers it a positive experience.

“It’s a good idea, having one book everyone can relate to. I had to do a paper on it, and it wasn’t really that hard, because I’d heard so much about it,” he said.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 January 2010 06:31 PM )

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