The UC Santa Barbara Library and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor are pleased to announce the selection of the UCSB Reads 2020 book: Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore, a work of creative nonfiction by Elizabeth Rush.
Rising combines rigorous reporting and lyrical storytelling to depict the impact of sea level rise in the United States.
Since 2007, UCSB Reads has brought the campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores important issues of our time.
An advisory committee made up of faculty, staff and students selected Rising for this year’s book, noting the power and relevance of the book’s stories about the people and communities most at risk from sea level rise. Rush demonstrates how race, class, national origin and income levels further exacerbate vulnerability to rising seas.
UCSB Reads 2020 will officially kick off with a free book giveaway for students at the beginning of the winter quarter. From January through May, The Library will also sponsor panel discussions, film screenings, exhibitions, and other events to explore the book’s themes.
On May 4, 2020, we will welcome Elizabeth Rush for a free lecture in UCSB’s Campbell Hall, to which the campus and community are invited. The public lecture is presented with assistance from UCSB Arts & Lectures.
This year, for the first time, UCSB Library is soliciting campus contributions to a 2020 winter and spring quarter art exhibition that relates to themes in the UCSB Reads book. Classes, individual students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate. Priority deadline is December 20, 2019.
If you wish to teach the book, submit artwork to the exhibition, participate in campus or community programming, or support UCSB Reads 2020, please contact:
Alex Regan, Events and Exhibitions Librarian
Phone: 805-893-3605
Email: UCSBReads@library.ucsb.edu
We are grateful for the generous support of our many sponsors. For details about UCSB Reads events, sponsors, and more, go to www.library.ucsb.edu/ucsbreads2020.
Thank you for reading, teaching, and learning along with us. #UCSBReads2020
