Fall 2024 Book Clubs
You're Not Listening (What You Are Missing and Why it Matters) Book Club: Facilitated by: Cathy Bell; Interest Form
It is primarily located at AppState Hickory and will also be offered virtually for interested AppState Boone participants. Despite living in a world where technology allows constant digital communication and opportunities to connect, it seems no one is really listening or even knows how. And it’s making us lonelier, more isolated, and less tolerant than ever before. A listener by trade, New York Times contributor Kate Murphy wanted to know how we got here. The Learning Objectives would be about empathetic listening, how technology contributes to distraction and how to overcome it, listening without judgment or arguing, etc. These are excellent skills for anyone working with students; ideally, we could pass along what we learn to them.
Peak Mind Book Club: Facilitated by Heather Lippard; Interest Form
STOP FOR A MOMENT.
Are you here right now? Is your focus on this page? Or is it roaming elsewhere, to the past or future, to a worry, to your to-do list, or to your phone?
Whether you’re simply browsing, talking to friends, or trying to stay focused in an important meeting, you can’t seem to manage to hang on to your attention. No matter how hard you try, you’re somewhere else. The consequence is that you miss out on 50 percent of your life—including the most important moments.
Demystifying the Academic Research Enterprise: Becoming a Successful Scholar in a Complex and Competitive Environment Book Club: Facilitated by Karen Fletcher; Interest Form
This book provides key career support to advance faculty and student success as they engage in research and mentoring as part of their scholarship. This book provides a comprehensive examination of key practical topics to enable aspiring as well as early-career researchers (undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, early career faculty, and research staff) across all disciplines—from art history to zoology—and all types and sizes of institutions, to begin mastering important professional capabilities far earlier in their career than normally would be the case. The content, complementary to knowledge received as part of formal education and training in research, is assembled in a manner that highlights interrelationships among topics, augmented and contextualized with nearly four decades of experience by the author in research and national policy.
Atomic Habits Book Club; Facilitated by Farrah Reidt; Interest Form
James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves repeatedly, not because you don't want to change but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system to take you to new heights.
Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.
What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures Book Club; Facilitated by: Heather Throp; Interest Form
Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. With grace, humor, and humanity, Johnson invites readers to ask and answer this ultimate question together: What if we get it right?
Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection—Now and in an Uncertain Future Book Club; Facilitated by: Claire LeMoine; Interest Form
In a world where things are constantly changing and there is a lot of uncertainty, Tomorrowmind is a book that shares advice and guidance on how to thrive in the modern workplace through the five main topics known as the PRISM model that are covered throughout this book: Prospection, Resilience, Innovation, and Creativity, Social Support for Rapid Rapport, Mattering, and Meaning.
The Value of the Humanities Book Club Facilitated by Kevin Schilbrack; Interest Form
With the humanities in trouble all over (including departments being closed in the UNC system), I thought that many of us would like to reflect on the value of what we do and improve our ability to defend the humanities. I thought that what would be best would be a book that did not take a particular philosophical approach (e.g., Aristotle's), was appropriate for every humanities field, and was not too long.
Teaching and Generative AI: Pedagogical Possibilities and Productive Tensions Book Club Facilitated by: Sarah Zurhellen and Julie Karaus; Interest Form
Our work in Writing Across the Curriculum and the University Writing Center has shown us how the introduction of AI in education impacts all members of the university community. Therefore, we want to host a book club that combines diverse interests and approaches to facilitate productive conversations about the benefits and constraints of generative AI and writing in higher education. If this interests you, we invite you to join us.
Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World Book Club Facilitated by: Laura England; Interest Form
"In Saving Us, Hayhoe argues that facts are only one part of the equation when it comes to changing hearts and minds. We need to find shared values in order to connect our unique identities to collective action. This is not another doomsday narrative about a planet on fire. It is a multilayered look at science, faith, and human psychology from an icon in her field—recently named chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. Drawing on interdisciplinary research and personal stories, Hayhoe shows that small conversations can have astonishing results. Saving Us leaves us with the tools to open a dialogue with our loved ones about how we all can play a role in pushing forward for change."
Dare To Lead Book Club Facilitated by: Rwany Sibaja; Interest Form
The book helps readers understand how to cultivate brave, daring leaders and develop a culture of courage (risk-taking). The objective is for CAS Education Directors and associated faculty to apply the discussions from this book to their roles as educator preparation program (EPP) faculty and instill daring leadership in future K-12 teachers.
Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal Book Club Facilitated by: Rachel Wilson; Interest Form
Burnout, a mental health syndrome caused by chronic workplace stress, is endemic to higher education in a patriarchal, productivity-obsessed culture. In this unique book for women in higher education, Rebecca Pope-Ruark, PhD, draws from her own burnout experience, as well as collected stories of faculty in various roles and career stages, interviews with coaches and educational developers, and extensive secondary research to address and mitigate burnout. Pope-Ruark lays out four pillars of burnout resilience for faculty members: purpose, compassion, connection, and balance. Each chapter contains relatable stories, reflective opportunities and exercises, and advice from women in higher education.