Summer Reading 2010

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a prosperous 47-year-old Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm. He traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. Eggers’ riveting nonfiction book, three years in the making, explores Zeitoun’s roots in Syria, his marriage to Kathy – an American who converted to Islam – their children, and the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and in the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun was possible. “Zeitoun” was written in close collaboration with its subjects and involved vast research in the United States, Spain, and Syria.

Campus events

Faculty Panel
Saturday, August 28, 2010 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., Cordiner Hall

Patrick Spencer, Professor of Geology; Jocelyn Hendrickson, Assistant Professor of Religion; and Jacqueline Woodfork, Assistant Professor of History, will share their unique, discipline-specific perspectives on the summer reading, “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers. This session will provide a brief introduction to the intellectual community at Whitman and serve as a springboard for the engaging book discussions to follow.

Soul Rebels Brass Band
Saturday, August 28, 2010 5:30 – 7:00 p.m., Reid Campus Center Lawn

Averaging around 250 shows per year, the Soul Rebels have brought the party to stages as far away as South Africa and Europe. When Hurricane Katrina struck their hometown in 2005, the band scattered across the region. Though a few members relocated to cities in Texas, the band frequently reconvened for gigs in New Orleans, this time with a renewed purpose. Indeed, since the storm, the band has been more successful than ever, serving as an international ambassador of the New Orleans sound.

Author's presentation
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 7:30 p.m., Cordiner Hall

Dave Eggers is the author of six previous books, including “What Is the What,” a finalist for the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of France’s Prix Médicis Etranger. His most recent book, “Zeitoun,” was awarded the LA Times Book award, Northern California Book Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Distinguished Honor, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s Media Award. Eggers is the founder and editor of McSweeney’s, an independent publishing house based in San Francisco.

This presentation will feature Eggers as well as Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun, subjects of the book “Zeitoun.”

Sponsored by ASWC Public Speakers, the Office of the Provost and the Dean of the Faculty, and the Office of the President.