‘The Last American Man’ Is the Fall 2006 Common-Text Choice

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For the third consecutive semester, the UMass Lowell English Department has chosen a common text to be read by all freshman College Writing students. The choice for the fall will be “The Last American Man” by Elizabeth Gilbert, which the Department describes as “a fascinating portrait of a contemporary American rebel,” who decides, at age 17, to depart society and pursue a life in the wilderness.

The book, which follows Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Nickel and Dimed” and Lynn  Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel” as the English Department’s third common-text selection, addresses, through its treatment of Eustace Conway, important personal questions of independence and identity, as well as the frontier mythology so a part of our American cultural experience, and the themes of masculinity and “rugged individualism” that have always attended this.

Among the goals of the common-text program, in addition to that of improving students’ communication and critical skills, are the creation of a sense of a shared cultural experience among UMass Lowell freshmen and the fostering of interaction between students and faculty, as well as among faculty colleagues.

The English Department is seeking partners in its choices of common texts, as well as new ideas for related, relevant programming—films, plays, music, etc.--both on- and off-campus. Those who would like to contribute should contact Paula Haines at ext. 4186 or by e-mail at Paula_Haines@uml.edu