New York Times Bestseller Selected for 2021-22 USA Common Read Program

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Posted on June 16, 2021

Joy Washington

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“So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed,” by Jon Ronson, will be the University of South Alabama’s Common Read/Common World book selection for 2021-22.

The Common Read program is for all South Alabama students, especially freshman, as well as faculty, staff and the greater Mobile community. The goal is to improve understanding of differences and commonalities across the world while engaging in academic discourse and critical thinking.

The highly acclaimed and best-selling book, published in 2015, features Ronson, a journalist and author, discussing public shaming in a funny and informative way and talking about how it is being used on social media and the internet.

“The committee considered this book as a contender last year, and it rose to the top again,” said Dr. Krista Harrell, co- chair of the Common Read committee and associate dean of students and Title IX coordinator. “The phenomenon of social media and its implication for those users who engage on these platforms is extremely relevant.”

Publisher’s Weekly called Ronson’s book “clever and thought-provoking” and noted “this book has the potential to open an important dialogue about faux moral posturing online and its potentially disastrous consequences.” Ronson, born in Wales is also the author of “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” and “The Psychopath Test.”

Harrell said events around the selected book will be held and promoted in the fall and spring semesters. The Common Read committee wants the community to join USA in reading “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed.” The Archaeology Museum will be one of several collaborating partners for the upcoming academic year.

The selected book can be purchased at the USA Bookstore and online, and it can be checked out at the USA Marx Library.

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