University Teaching and Learning Commons | Programs & Support | Programs | Literary Circles

Literary Circles

Literary Circles unite faculty around a particular topic and reading related to the scholarship on teaching and learning. We provide the books, and you provide the thoughtful conversation!

Check out current and past offerings below!

Upcoming Literary Circles

Book cover for Unraveling Faculty Burnout

In Spring 2024, the UTLC will partner with the Provost’s Faculty Fellows to offer a literary circle featuring “Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal” by Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark. The book is available as a free eBook through our library.

We will meet five times during the spring semester (meetings will be both face to face and hybrid) and refreshments will be provided. While this event is centered around the text, this event also has a broader context of offering an opportunity for faculty to gather together to discuss burnout causes and solutions. Faculty do not need to attend all the meetings and do not have to read the chapters to attend the meetings: our goal is to provide a space for conversation and connection about this topic, with a focus on hope and renewal. The meeting location is to be determined, with dates and times as follows:

  • January 18 (Thursday); 2:00-3:00 PM
  • February 6 (Tuesday); 10:00-11:00 AM
  • February 29 (Thursday); 2:00-3:00 PM
  • March 19 (Tuesday); 10:00-11:00 AM
  • April 9 (Tuesday); 12:30-2:00 [Lunch provided]

If you’re interested in this opportunity (even if you’re not sure about which meetings you may be able to attend), please fill out the interest form below so that we can add you to the Canvas group and provide you with meeting details; there will be virtual resources available regardless of whether you are able to attend any or all the meetings. We will send information about the book, Canvas link, and location of the meetings after you complete the interest form.

Complete the Interest Form

Past Literary Circles

Fall 2022 Offerings

Spring 2022 Offerings

Fall 2021 Offerings

Spring 2021

  • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants (Kimmerer)
  • Between the World and Me (Coates)
  • Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy
  • Educated: A Memoir (Westover)
  • Geeky Pedagogy: A guide for intellectuals, introverts, & nerds who want to be effective teachers (Neuhaus)

Fall 2020

  • Intentional Tech: Principles to guide the use of edu technology in college teaching (Bruff)
  • Radical Hope: A teaching manifesto (Gannon)
  • Red Pedagogy: Native American social & political thought (Grande)
  • The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower learning, unleash talent, & lead a culture of creativity (Couros)
  • Me and White Supremacy: Combat racism, change the world, and become a good ancestor (Saad) – DIGITAL book  
  • The Meaningful Writing Project: Learning, Teaching & Writing (Eodice, et al.) – DIGITAL book
  • Tribal Leadership: Leveraging natural groups to build a thriving organization (Logan)

Spring 2020

  • Mindset: The new psychology of success (Carol Dweck)
  • Whistling Vivaldi: How stereotypes affect us and what we do (Claude Steele)
  • Effective Grading: A tool for learning and assessment in college (Barbara Walvoord & Virginia Johnson Anderson)
  • Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world (Django Paris & H. Samy Alim (eds))
  • Technology & Innovation in Adult Learning (Kathleen King)
  • I’m Still Here: Black dignity in a world made for whiteness (Austin Channing Brown)

Fall 2019

  • Indigeneity and Decolonial Resistance: Alternative to colonial thinking and practice (George J Sefa Dei & Cristina Jaimungal)
  • A Dream Called Home: A memoir (Reyna Grande)
  • How Humans Learn: The science and stories behind effective college teaching (Joshua Eyler)
  • Generation Z Goes to College (Corey Seemiller & Meghan Grace)

Spring 2019

  • Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving the Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Paulo Freire)
  • Thinking Collaboratively: Learning in a community of inquiry (D. Randy Garrison)
  • Tribal Leadership: Leveraging natural groups to build a thriving organization (David Logan)
  • Small Teaching: Everyday lessons from the science of learning (James Lang)

Fall 2018

  • On Course: A week-by-week guide to your first semester of college teaching (James Lang)
  • Experience on Demand: What virtual reality is, how it works, and what it can do (Jeremy Bailenson)
  • Minds Online: Teaching effectively with technology (Michelle Miller)
  • Knowledge for Social Change: Bacon, Dewey, and the revolutionary transformation of research universities in the twenty-first century (Benson, et al.)
Share This