San Diego State University
ER-T2-8: Themed Semester or Year

SDSU’s Common Experience reading program is conversation that begins with a discussion of a book then spills over the campus and into the community by putting together a slate of thematically relevant activities. Student journals, films, theater, creative writing, original music and dance performances, art exhibitions, panel discussions, renowned guest speakers, service learning experiences and more, all enrich the process and expand inclusiveness. Beginning in 2010 the Common Experience Program has featured at least one book per year on a sustainability related topic and highlighted sustainability as a theme in campus programing. The 2010 Common Experience featured sustainability through the theme Social Justice and Environmental Integrity: A Call to Service and choice of Ray Anderson's book Confessions of a Radical Industrialist. Programming for the year included courses that incorporated the book across the University, faculty lunches and discussions, and a panel discussion and town hall on Corporate Responsibility. Common Social Justice: A commitment to creating conditions that promote fairness and equality in social life, thereby contributing to the common good. The valuing of social justice moves in the opposite direction of the dictum that “might makes right.” Environmental Integrity: in the understanding that, as biological beings, we are connected to—and responsible for—all living beings. How we live, moment by moment, conveys that relatedness and either enhances, or destroys, the world upon which our existence depends. Call to Service: The will to act on behalf of some value, ideal or good that extends beyond the needs of the self and toward the betterment of others. It is through intentional action, both individually and collectively, that we move toward social justice and environmental integrity. The 2011-12 theme "Science, Ethics, and Moral Courage" and book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which explored social and ethical aspects of a sustainable world, is continued with the 2012-13 book selection "Silent Spring" by Rachael Carson.