Common Read

2025-26 Common Read: The Anthropocene Reviewed

Common Read News:

An ETSU Festival of Ideas/Common Read Student Writing Project
Reviewing the World We've Made

ETSU students are invited to take part in Reviewing the World We’ve Made, a reflective writing project inspired by ETSU’s Common Read, The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green.

Pause and consider something humans have created and how it has shaped your life or the lives of others. It could be something small or significant, serious or lighthearted, a place on campus, a piece of technology, a routine, a tradition, or an everyday object. What matters most is not the subject itself, but why it matters to you.

You will write a short, personal essay that “reviews” one aspect of the human-made world and what that subject reveals about people, connection, community, and/or meaning. This is not an academic paper. Submissions should be thoughtful, reflective, and grounded in lived experience. You may also choose to include a rating or symbolic score, as Green does in The Anthropocene Reviewed.

This is a non-competitive writing project. Essays will not be ranked or scored, but reviewed holistically for clarity, originality, thoughtfulness, and connection to the human-made world. Selected essays may be featured on ETSU websites, other digital platforms, and in printed publications, with some receiving public recognition during John Green’s campus visit.

Deadline to submit: Sunday, Feb. 15 at 11:59 p.m.

Submit an essay

 

Upcoming Common Read Events:

The Anthropocene Reviewed Through Podcasting:
Learning the Tools of Audio Storytelling 

Innovation Commons Podcast Workshop  
February 25 – 4:30-6:30 p.m. 

Inspired by the ETSU Common Read, The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, the Innovation Commons invites students to explore how thoughtful stories are shaped not only by words but by sound. In this technical, hands-on workshop, participants will learn the fundamentals of podcast creation while reflecting on the voice-driven storytelling that defines Green’s work. 

Students will receive an introduction to the Innovation Commons audio booth and the essential skills needed to create a podcast episode, including microphone setup, recording techniques, audio levels, basic editing, and exporting a finished file. Along the way, participants will experiment with short narrative prompts drawn from The Anthropocene Reviewed, focusing on how tone, pacing, and audio design can deepen meaning and connection. 

This workshop emphasizes practical media literacy and creative skill-building, offering students from any discipline the opportunity to gain experience with professional recording tools. By combining technical instruction with reflective storytelling, the Innovation Commons supports students in developing both the confidence and the competencies to communicate clearly in an increasingly audio-driven world. Registration is required. 

The Anthropocene Reviewed: A Series of Celestial Encounters

Inspired by John Green’s essay “Halley’s Comet” in The Anthropocene Reviewed, the Department of Physics and Astronomy at ETSU invites students to attend the following events hosted by the Departments of Physics and Astronomy.

• On Wednesday, February 18, the moon and the innermost planet to the Sun, Mercury, will have an extremely close conjunction -- they will nearly be "touching" each other shortly after sunset.  You'll need binoculars to catch this close pairing, since the Moon will just be a day past New Moon, hence it will be a very slight crescent shape in the bright western twilight.  On this date, look towards the West-Southwest horizon 30 minutes after sunset to spot this pair just 10 degrees above the horizon.  Make sure this horizon is unobstructive to catch this conjunction -- Mercury will be just to the top of the dark side of the Moon.  Finally, note that if you look closely, you will also see brilliant planet Venus below the Moon-Mercury pair, just a few degrees above the horizon.
• On Thursday, February 19, at 7 p.m. EST, there will be a free planetarium show at the ETSU Planetarium.  The Planetarium is located on the top floor (Room 207) of Hutcheson Hall on the main ETSU campus. Visitors may park on campus without the need for permits during the evening hours.  On this night, Dr. Gary Henson will be presenting a show titled "Unveiling the Invisible Universe." Learn more.
• On Saturday, February 21, at 8 p.m. EST, there will be a free public Observatory Open House at the ETSU campus Harry D. Powell Observatory.  During these open houses, telescopes will be set up and available for visitors to view celestial objects, and ETSU astronomers/physicists will be available to answer questions.  Learn more.
• If we are lucky enough to get a clear sky early in the morning on Tuesday, March 3, we will be in for a treat -- a total lunar eclipse!  Lunar eclipses are best seen with the naked eye; telescopes or binoculars are NOT needed.  All you have to do is step outside your house and look up.  The partial eclipse of the Moon begins at 4:50 a.m. when the Moon first enters the Earth's umbral (darkest-part) shadow.  As the Moon moves deeper and deeper into the Earth's shadow, totality begins at 6:04 a.m., the deepest part of the eclipse, mid-eclipse is at 6:34 a.m., and totality ends at 7:03 a.m.  As the Moon then moves out of the Earth's shadow, the partial lunar eclipse ends at 8:18 a.m.  Since the Moon needs to be at full phase for a lunar eclipse to occur, the Moon has to be on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun.  Since sunrise occurs at 6:57 a.m. on March 3rd, the Moon will be hovering above the western horizon while this eclipse is occurring.  Indeed, at moonset, the Moon will still be in totality.  It should make for some spectacular photos!  If you miss this lunar eclipse, you will have to wait 3 years for the next lunar eclipse visible from eastern Tennessee – this eclipse occurs on June 26, 2029.

Common Read Trivia Tabling

The Graduate and Professional Student Association will host a Common Read Trivia Tabling event on Wednesday, February 18, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the D.P. Culp Student Center, near the Cave stairs.

Arts Showcase

Update: Due to impending inclement weather, the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts Showcase, originally scheduled for Jan. 31, will now be held Tuesday, March 10, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Martin Center for the Arts. 

The showcase features student performances, film, storytelling and visual art in a free public event. The theme of the showcase is inspired by the ETSU Common Read and is titled: “The Anthropocene Reviewed Through Art: Stories of what we love, what we've lost, and what we choose to remember.” Learn more. 

Previous Selections

The ETSU Common Read began in 2024 as a catalyst for connection, conversation, and community learning. Each academic year, the university will introduce a new campus read for the campus community to read and discuss.

Past selections include: