Common Word Community Read Dr. Ellen Holmes Pearson, Professor of History and Roy Carroll Professor of Arts & Sciences “‘…a degraded caste:’ Color and Legal Status in the Early American Republic”

The Common Word Community Read, curated by Wiley Cash ’00, brings the UNC Asheville community together to engage in a collective educational experience. Each semester, one book will serve as the focus of numerous virtual and in-person lectures and discussions that will allow participants to delve deeper into the text. Join the Facebook Group to learn more and pick up your copy of the first community read: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.

A suggested reading schedule will be posted soon, and UNC Asheville faculty will lead interdisciplinary discussions throughout the fall semester.

This event will be the first of three faculty-led lectures for the Fall 2021 Common Word Community Read series. Additional lecturers slated include a talk from Fabrice Julien, assistant professor of health and wellness, on “Race Towards An Early Grave: How the American System of Ranking Human Value Drives {consequential} Health Outcomes” (Oct. 19), and a talk from Shawn N. Mendez, assistant professor of sociology, on “Beyond the Binary: Gender, Sexuality, and Family in the American Caste System” (Nov. 16).