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Posted: 9/27/18

Reading the Globe Author Loung Ung Visits TAMIU Friday

 

Author Loung Ung
Author Loung Ung  

Author Loung Ung, whose haunting book “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers”  is the common read for Texas A&M International University’s freshman class for its Reading the Globe Program, will visit with TAMIU students Friday, Oct. 5 at 11:30 a.m.

TAMIU’s Reading the Globe Program, now in its 11thyear, is one of the University’s most popular globally-focused initiatives, said program coordinator, Dr. Conchita Hickey, Dean Emeritus. 

“Our Common Read Program, spearheaded by University College, is a University-wide initiative aimed at engaging all members of the University and Laredo in a common, academically-oriented intellectual activity. Since 2008, we’ve enabled all TAMIU First Year students to engage in a selected internationally focused book through their University Seminar during the Fall semester.

“This creates an opportunity for discourse about issues relevant to students, and raises social awareness on a local and global scale.Faculty and staff also participate in the Common Read, fostering and strengthening the growth of an intellectual community in and around TAMIU that supports students' academic development. Students can compete to become part of a study abroad group that often visits the setting of the book studied,” Dr. Hickey noted.

Ung’s book was also selected by Laredo Public Libraries’ One City, One Book program, as part of the joint program with TAMIU funded in part by Humanities Texas.  Ung visits and lectures Saturday, Oct. 6 at the Joe A. Guerra Public Library’s Multi-Purpose Room, 1120 East Calton Road, at 10:30 a.m.  A 9:30 a.m. reception will precede the Saturday lecture.

TAMIU’s Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library has also mounted a special commemorative exhibit tracing the programs’ global travels in photos and the spectrum of books selected for the Global Read throughout the years. Explore the World at Killam Library:  Celebrating 10 years of Reading the Globe @ TAMIUis on display through Oct. 8, 2018 in the Killam Library Special Collections Reading Room (KL203).  The exhibit is free and open to the public.  For more Reading the Globe events, visit the schedule.

Among countries TAMIU students have visited since the Program began are Bosnia, Cambodia, China, Chile, Croatia, Ghana, Hungary, India, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and, most recently, Russia.  

Ung’s riveting book offers an insightful narrative into the nature of war crimes and desperate actions under the regime of  Pol Pot and the remarkable strength and triumph of a small girl and her family. Copies of the book are available for checkout at the Laredo Public Library. It is also available for sale at the TAMIU Bookstore and 2nd & Charles Bookstore.

For additional information, contact University College at 956.326.2134, email university.college@tamiu.eduor visit offices in the Zaffirini Student Success Center, room 223.

Information is also available by visiting the dedicated Reading the Globe website at http://www.tamiu.edu/spotlight/, or the group’s Instagram page,  @TAMIUreadingtheglobe