The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced “I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban” will be the university’s Go Big Read common-reading program book for the 2014-’15 academic school year, according to a press release.
The book was co-written by British journalist Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani teenager who fought for girls’ right to an education despite threats and violence from the oppressive Taliban regime.
“I am Malala” reflects next year’s Go Big Read theme of service by defining Yousafzai’s commitment to serving the world “in a highly personal way,” UW School of Medicine and Public Health Associate Dean and selection committee member Patrick McBride said in the release.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank chose the book from a short list compiled by the Go Big Read selection committee from nearly 200 initial nominations.The committee is comprised of members from various departments across campus.
“Readers will connect with these experiences through her convincing description of how she became a voice of protest against the social restrictions she faced,” Blank said in the release. “Her story will lead our students to reflect on the opportunities they have to use their own voice in the world.”
While Yousafzai, who now lives in England with her family, will be unable to visit UW-Madison’s campus next year due to school conflicts, Go Big Read organizers will plan a public lecture by another speaker related to the book.
