USD Just Read! Brings Fresh Dialogue on American Poverty

In its seventh iteration, the USD Just Read! Program again challenges the campus community to consider pressing social issues of our time. The 2018-19 book selection of Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer’s book, $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, explores the growing contingent of Americans living in absolute poverty below the radar of national awareness.

In line with Changemaker thinking, Edin and Shaefer present the issue of income inequality and extreme poverty in the United States through intimate profiles of these households living on less than $2 of cash income per person per day. This threshold, traceable to the International Poverty Line set by the World Bank Group, counts 1.5 million America households in absolute poverty according to the authors’ analysis. Coupled with their review of welfare system reform since the Great Depression era, Edin and Shaefer equip readers with a renewed understanding of poverty and a compelling call to action.

The Center for Education Excellence (CEE), which has delivered panels, workshops, and discussions for the book program each academic year, continued its leading work to encourage campus literacy and deep dialogue on social issues. Past book selections have facilitated conversations on racial inequality, water consumption, and food systems. Among the sponsored programs hosted by CEE and other university partners this year are an interdisciplinary faculty panel, numerous guest lectures, and a discussion facilitated by Kroc School graduate students.

“This program serves as a wonderful way to support USD's commitment to integrated learning, supporting the strong liberal arts tradition on campus,” notes Dr. Sandra Sgoutas-Emch, professor of Psychological Sciences and director of the CEE. In this role, Sgoutas-Emch has worked to bring engaging programming to campus including a Spring 2019 essay contest for students and an upcoming performance by the Voices of Our City Choir, a San Diego-based community group that attained national acclaim in the documentary “The Homeless Choir Speaks.”

Professors and lecturers often incorporate USD Just Read! book selections and their themes into coursework. Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Jillian Tullis, PhD, launched the SNAP Challenge which tested participants’ ability to budget to the allowance set by the federal nutrition program.

“It's my hope after completing the Challenge students will have a better understanding of the taken-for-granted assumptions about access to nutritious food, food choice, and how we communicate about food personally, socially, and politically,” said Tullis about the program that was inspired by a former colleague.

Fran Buranday ’19 participated in the SNAP Challenge which required her to consider her budget by itemizing her weekly food purchases. “I was shocked at how difficult it was to stay under budget through meal-prepping and other time-intensive savings strategies. You know, as college students, time is money for us.”

Buranday felt she benefitted from the experiential learning, helping her relate to the content of the book more closely. Merging the practice of community literacy with social awareness reminds the campus community of the empathy needed to serve as Changemakers.

Want to join the conversation?

Co-author H. Luke Shaefer, PhD, will be on the USD campus Thursday, Nov. 15 for a roundtable discussion from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at Hahn University Center Room 107 and will give a keynote address from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Shiley Theater. Students and faculty can read the book online or check for hardcopy availability for free with their Copley Library access. For more information, contact the Center for Educational Excellence at (619) 260-7402 or email cee@sandiego.edu

— Michael Bennett ’19