A new addition to Case Western Reserve University's incoming undergraduate common summer reading program—new itself as of last year—is an essay contest, winners of which will receive $200 gift certificates for the University Bookstore.

The assigned summer reading for the Class of 2007 is An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver W. Sacks. Sacks is known for his books The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings, which was made into a movie starring Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro.

Sacks will be at CWRU August 28 as part of the University's Fall Convocation.

President Edward M. Hundert will announce winners of the essay contest, which is sponsored by the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, at the annual Share the Vision orientation program at 3 p.m. August 19 in Severance Hall. Short excerpts from the winning essays will be read, with the permission of the contestants.

An Anthropologist on Mars will be the focus of programs and discussions throughout Orientation 2003, August 16 through August 24. The book also will be part of the syllabus for all First-Year Seminars for SAGES students.

The book focuses on personal adaptation to significant life changes. Sacks shares what he has learned from seven patients, their tales of the resiliency of the human spirit and the will to live life as fully as possible despite seemingly insurmountable medical obstacles.

"We selected this particular book, in part, because you, too, are about to embark on a series of metamorphoses as you adapt to the Case community and to your life as a college student," Hundert wrote in a letter to first-year students. "We also feel that Sacks will appeal to everyone's academic interests. Sacks' medical case studies include descriptions of unique and memorable individuals as well as descriptions of the neurological disorders, such as autism and Tourette's Syndrome, that transform these individuals."

All 900 new freshmen were mailed a copy of An Anthropologist on Mars, courtesy of the provost's office, at the beginning of July.

In addition to the Share the Vision discussion on the summer reading selection, orientation 2003 marks the return of Cruising CWRU, also new last year, which allows incoming undergraduates to choose from a variety of activities that allow them to experience the CWRU campus and Greater Cleveland communities firsthand.

Cruising CWRU activities this year include canoeing, taking high and low ropes courses, rock climbing, participating in dance and improv exercises, learning about film and radio production, building a LEGO robot, working with Habitat for Humanity and touring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, among others.

Orientation activities also include a treasure hunt, meet the faculty seminars, karoke and casino nights and a class community service project, among others.

All new undergraduates are eligible to enter the summer reading program essay contest.

Their 500- to 1,000-word essays must be submitted by August 1. They can be e-mailed to orientation@ess.cwru.edu, faxed to 216-368-8826 or mailed to Mayo Bulloch, Educational Enhancement Programs, CWRU, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7062.

In their essays, students are to respond to one of four questions:

• How do the cases developed by Sacks teach us about what it means to be normal? Is there such thing as normal or are we all abnormal in different ways and to different degrees? Explain your own opinion with examples from the book and from your own experiences.
• Many of the characters in the book have had to adapt to difficult challenges. Share a personal narrative about yourself or someone you admire who has adapted to challenges in order not only to survive but also to live a fulfilling life. Relate this narrative to one or more of the case studies in the book.
• Reading often challenges us to broaden and even alter our own perspectives. Using knowledge that you have extracted from Sack's case studies, describe how your perspective has been challenged or transformed on some topic related to the medical, scientific, or philosophical ideas included in this book.
• Sacks introduces a number of themes that play, often indirectly or subtly, upon the question of whether reality is objective (a reality unto itself) or subjective (a matter of the perception of the human mind). Drawing evidence and examples from one or more of the case studies, explore whether you think that reality is objective, subjective, both, or neither.

CWRU's common summer reading program for new freshmen was introduced last year when first-year students read and later discussed Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriquez.

For additional information on this year's reading program and essay contest, go to http://www.cwru.edu/orientation/2003/reading.htm and http://www.cwru.edu/orientation/2003/essay.htm.

To learn more about orientation, including a schedule of events, go to http://www.cwru.edu/orientation/2003.

 

Return to the online edition of the 7-24-03 Campus News.

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