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UW-Madison Gears Up for Year Two of Go Big Read
Posted 08/27/2010
UW-Madison is gearing up for year two of the Go Big Read common book program with Chancellor Martin’s selection of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. The Go Big Read program is designed to encourage students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members to engage each other through facilitated book discussions, course curricula, and public presentations. Author Rebecca Skloot will visit UW-Madison for a presentation on Monday, October 25 at 7:00 pm at the Kohl Center.
Ms. Skloot’s book tells the true story of a cancer patient named Henrietta Lacks whose cells were harvested without her knowledge or permission. The HeLa cells have since “launched a medical revolution and a multimillion-dollar industry.” The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks raises provocative questions related to ethics, medical research practices, race, and culture that will spark candid discussions across disciplines and experiences.
The book will be incorporated into almost 80 courses campus-wide and provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration. For example, a group called the Interprofessional Health Education Committee has created a Go Big Read-Health Sciences Program that will involve hundreds of health sciences students in one-hour sessions with a facilitator who will focus on one of three overarching themes: science and society, race and culture, and research ethics. 25-40 facilitators will lead nearly 800 students in discussions at the Health Sciences Learning Center over a three-week period. Subjects such as who owns our tissues and bodies, the inclusion and necessary protection of human subjects, the place of the HeLa cell in research at UW, the ethics of informed consent, and the question of racial equity in research protocols are all relevant for current and future health sciences professionals.
Ms. Skloot will be on campus October 25-27 and will participate in a number of programs and events. Planning is under way for on-campus discussion groups and the Madison and Dane County public libraries are also sponsoring book discussions. Copies of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks are available in the public libraries and in local bookstores. Free copies are offered for first-year students and students using the book in academic courses.
