Why has LSU instituted a Summer Reading Program?
• To introduce an academic focus to Fall Orientation, helping students see how various disciplines take different perspectives on a common book, giving them a chance to discuss ideas with a faculty member in an informal setting before classes start. To provide common background reading for discussions in freshman classes. Fast Food Nation may be discussed in various ways in different classes. A freshman English class may look at how Schlosser builds his argument, at what constitutes evidence for his claims, while a general education class in sociology might discuss how fast food widens the gap between rich and poor. A political science class might examine how presidential candidates stand on issues of government regulations discussed in the book. It gives freshmen a common reading experience to discuss as they adjust socially and academically to a new environment, getting to know each other’s views on various current topics – food choices being only one – others include the impact of a
