UW News

June 28, 2012

Seventh UW Common Book explores meaning and power of respect

News and Information

Respect: An Exploration” by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot has been selected as the seventh UW Common Book for freshmen and for the first time the Common Book will serve as a text for freshmen interest groups and transfer interest groups.

“Respect” tells the stories of six remarkable but ordinary people and the central role that the value of respect plays in their lives and work. The accounts span the human experience, from birth to death and features a midwife, pediatrician, teacher, professor, artist and therapist, each revealing another dimension or window into the nature of respect. Several stories also describe the experiences of students.

“Not only is respect a UW value,” says Ed Taylor, vice provost and dean of undergraduate academic affairs, “but the book itself is a wonderful introduction to a particular form of scholarship practiced by our faculty. This is work of deep inquiry. It is an example of questioning and the kind of discovery and insight that come from careful observation, analysis, and thought.”    

The author, Lawrence-Lightfoot, is a professor of education at Harvard University, author of 10 books and a MacArthur fellow.

As in past years, this years Common Book project will include a number of student oriented-activities including a planned lecture by Lawrence-Lightfoot in autumn quarter.

Students will receive a copy of “Respect” during their summer orientation and advising sessions and will be asked to read it over the summer before the start of classes.

The Common Book is sponsored by Undergraduate Academic Affairs.