Ann Shattles would like to know, “Whether you’ve only looked at the cover or if you’ve had a chance to start the book, based on what you’ve read thus far, what issues or ethical dilemmas do you expect the author to raise?”

- Ann Shattles is the Assistant Director of the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center and an Adjunct Lecturer in the English Department at Southern Methodist University.

Welcome to official blog for SMU’s 2011 Common Reading: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks! The blog was created to foster online discussion between faculty, staff and students as you experience the story behind HeLa cell and the “immortal” Henrietta Lacks.

As the incoming class of 2015 you will receive the book during the summer at AARO and should read it before you arrive for the start of the fall semester. Faculty, staff and returning students have already begun reading and discussing the book in preparation for small-group conversations you will participate in before Rotunda Passage and Opening Convocation. And most importantly, your first-year writing courses will use the book as part of the curriculum for the fall semester.

Candy Crespo, Assistant Director, Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility

Throughout the summer and fall semesters, SMU faculty members, like Diana Grumbles,  Ron Wetherington and Ann Shattles, will post thought-provoking questions to the blog site. It’s up to you, Class of 2015, to respond.

Happy Reading.

Candy Crespo