Common Reading

One of the first challenges we faced was how to begin to bring the disparate elements of the ship together as a learning community. We used the idea of a Common Reading (not new to us, of course) and chose Jamaica Kincaid's provocative book, A Small Place, to begin our conversations. All students, faculty, families, and lifelong learners were divided up into 41 small groups, which assembled in order to introduce themselves, discuss the book, and write short reaction papers about what they've read. The results were gratifying: most of the students had actually read the book (!! -- it's only 82 pp. long) and they were provoked by Kincaid's angry polemic to think about what impact tourists have on the countries they visit. Hundreds of responses went along these lines:

"The book puts a lot of questions into a young reader's mind."

"You succeeded in getting me to suspend my preconceived notions and simply listen."

"Although I am nervous to reach our first country, I feel that I will have a better understanding about how to act and how to keep my mind open for the journey."

"The book was eye-opening."

"It offers a harsh but refreshing look at tourism, colonization, and their long-lasting effects on indigenous cultures ... I thought this was the perfect way to begin this voyage as we prepare to encounter cultures so different from our own."

I served as my own Interport Lecturer for Spain, giving a number of evening Explorer Seminars on the following subjects: "Spain: It's Gonna Surprise You," "Dining Out in Spain," "Five Spanish Painters (El Greco, Velázquez, Goya, Picasso, Dalí," "A Clash of Titans: Franco and Juan Carlos," plus two classes on higher education in Spain and the poetry of Rafael Alberti. Cultural Preport ("In and Around Cádiz" and "Spain Today") rounded out my work in this area. Being Interport AND Academic Dean is a lot.Tomorrow, we arrive in Cádiz, Spain.