RIT Brings Author Andre Dubus III to Campus for Common Text Experience

Award-winning novelist Andre Dubus III will be a subject of study and teacher this year for freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology. His bestseller, House of Sand and Fog is the common text in an annual course sponsored by RIT’s Department of Language and Literature in the College of Liberal Arts.

Freshman enrolled in Writing and Literature I and II will read and discuss the novel. Dubus will visit with students to talk about House of Sand and Fog, his career and the writing process. He will visit classes and give a free lecture at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, in Ingle Auditorium in the Student Alumni Union at RIT.

House of Sand and Fog focuses on an impassioned clash over a piece of property between an Iranian immigrant and a single working-class woman recovering from alcohol and drug addictions.

“The novel takes a hard look at racism and prejudice and shows how, with imagination and empathy, we can make sense of it,” says Linda Reinfeld, chair of the Common Text committee. “That’s what we hope our students will be able to do.”

Two panel discussion will lead up to Dubus’ lecture to provide insight into the author’s work:

A panel on the immigrant experience will be held at 7:30 pm. On Wednesday, Oct. 6, in Webb Auditorium of the James E. Booth Building. Babak Elahi, professor of language and literature at RIT, will lead the discussion.

A lecture by Mark Price, professor of language and literature at RIT, will compare House of Sand and Fog as novel and film at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13, in Ingle Auditorium.

The common reading experience at RIT, a 26-year-old tradition in the language and literature department focus on works by living authors, usually novelists, who are invited to campus. All RIT students enrolled in Writing and Literature I and II, a core requirement for first year students will read a common text. Previous authors who have visited RIT include Tessa Bridal, Tony Morrison, Colson Whitehead, William Kennedy and Anthony Swofford.

For more information, call 585-475-6928.


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