Diversity Common Reader Program
Northern's annual Diversity Common Reader Program (DCRP) revolves around a nonfiction book of interdisciplinary interest that advances discussions of diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Free copies of the selected text are available to NMU students on a first-come, first-served basis.
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About the DCRP
Held annually since 2013, this program comprises an interdisciplinary series of events inspired by a nonfiction book that advances discussions of diversity, inclusion, and justice.
Each year, books are distributed free of charge to interested NMU students (on a first-come-first-served basis), and all events are free and open to the public.
This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of NMU's Diversity Common Reader Program with Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism by Elsa Sjunneson.
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2023 Book Selection
Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism by Elsa Sjunneson
Elsa Sjunneson is an author, editor, media critic, teacher, and disability activist. You may have heard her recently on the podcast Radiolab, where she talks about her complicated relationship to Helen Keller, or seen her in a PBS short film in which she responds to the Keller episode of American Masters. Elsa has published both nonfiction and speculative fiction, and her editing work has been honored with Hugo, Aurora, and British Fantasy Awards.
Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism, published just last year, is a wide-ranging and illuminating expose of ableism as it shapes and limits our shared world. By turns wry and searing, the book addresses everything from ableist stereotypes in literature and media to dating while disabled. Elsa draws from both lived experience and extensive study of ableism in our culture, creating a highly engaging book for all readers--including those for whom this topic is brand new.
Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism, published just last year, is a wide-ranging and illuminating expose of ableism as it shapes and limits our shared world. By turns wry and searing, the book addresses everything from ableist stereotypes in literature and media to dating while disabled. The author draws from both lived experience and extensive study of ableism in our culture, creating a highly engaging book for all readers--including those for whom this topic is brand new.
Lesley Larkin
DCRP Committee Chair | NMU English Professor