The Common Text Program at UMass Lowell
Updated 1/2007                                     

Overview                                                                                            

This program, inaugurated by the English Department in Fall 2005, introduces UML's freshmen to a shared reading experience in each semester of College Writing.  In first-semester College Writing classes, students read a nonfiction text in common and attend programs designed to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of the writing classroom.  In College Writing II, students read a dramatic text in common and attend both a production of that play at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in downtown Lowell and related events taking place on campus.  Through their common experience of analyzing the common text and attending the programs sponsored by various departments and disciplines, students will continue to develop a sense of the exciting intellectual and cultural scope of their experience at UML; enhance their sense of belonging to a vibrant learning community across the disciplines; and tie the general-educational goals of critical thinking and communication skills to students' understanding of their roles as members of the broader community.

Goals                                                                                                                  

• To emphasize and improve skills in writing, oral communication, critical analysis, and collaboration

• To explore a theme or issue using an interdisciplinary approach which engages a variety of academic contexts and cultural perspectives

• To invigorate the teaching on our campus and promote vital interactions between faculty colleagues and between students and faculty

• To help integrate campus life with the city of Lowell

• To create a sense of shared cultural experience among first-year students at UML and insure that every first year student has a common academic experience as a class

• To improve campus life by promoting student engagement, curiosity, and excitement

Sample Practices                                                                                             

• Seek collaboration from colleagues in other departments and offices on campus

• Provide a paid, intensive training workshop for College Writing faculty teaching the text

• Facilitate student cooperation and collaboration across sections of College Writing

• Research and gather materials for the Common Text Digital Reader on the UML Library website

• Offer a wide variety of events on campus, such as:

• Fall film-and-discussion series for Nickel and Dimed and The Last American Man

• Open conversation on "Fighting Back at Work"

• Afternoon with Lynn Nottage, author of Intimate Apparel

• On-campus talkbacks with actors from the MRT production of Intimate Apparel

• Residence Hall film screenings and pizza nights

• Freshman essay contests

The Future of Common Text                                                                            

As we move into our third semester of this project, we will seek permanent funding for our program.  We will continue to assess its impact on students' writing and thinking, and their campus experience as a whole, with particular attention to freshman retention.  We aim to incorporate a service-learning or problem-centered learning component into our faculty workshop materials, and to encourage English faculty to pursue those strategies.  We hope to develop a pilot project that would engage students at an area high school with the Common Text and with the UML campus.  We will continue our efforts to build a robust and diverse roster of collaborating faculty, especially in the non-humanities disciplines.