Volunteers record Civil War novel for student use

Anthony Wise called on his South Carolina roots when he volunteered this summer to read and record a portion of a novel about the Civil War South for sight-impaired and learning-disabled students at Pellissippi State.

Wise, vice president of Academic and Student Affairs, was one of several faculty and staff to record parts of “Sharpshooter,” the Pulitzer Prize–nominated book by David Madden that was chosen by the College for this year’s Common Book Experience.

The Common Book Experience is meant to help first-year students succeed by providing a shared academic experience that explores the connections among the various disciplines and encourages conversations throughout the Pellissippi State community.

Beginning fall semester, “Sharpshooter: A Novel of the Civil War” will be required reading for English I, U.S. History, General Psychology and General Sociology, as well as for some American literature classes.

“Sharpshooter,” published by the University of Tennessee Press, is not available in audio form, so volunteers here took turns this summer recording it for Services for Students With Disabilities.

“I was pleasantly surprised with the response of faculty and staff,” said Ann Satkowiak, director of Services for Students With Disabilities. “Nearly 40 employees said they would be willing to record part of the book.” Ultimately, only male readers were used, since the primary character is a 13-year-old East Tennessee boy.

Once the parts were recorded, Don Amos, coordinator of Services for Students With Disabilities, compiled the readings onto one CD.

“This book introduces an extraordinary character in Willis Carr,” said Lois Reynolds, English department head. “He wants to go out into the world and do something with his life and instead gets caught in an exploding world that forces him to make terrible choices in horrific situations.

“Implementation of the book will involve not only the study of Civil War history, including planned field trips to important sites in Knoxville and East Tennessee, but also a study of the effects of war on soldiers and of the difficulty of making decisions in traumatic situations. Many of our students will undoubtedly identify with the protagonist.”

Anthony Wise expects the book to generate some interesting conversations, both in and out of the classroom.

“It will give us a chance to think about our local history,” he said. “It will get us to think about young people and the difficult decisions they have to make.” Many issues are the same today, he points out: young people serving in Iraq and Afghanistan may have experiences similar to those of Willis Carr.

The book’s author is a creative writing professor at Louisiana State University. He has published nine novels and two collections of short stories, as well as a number of plays, textbooks, and works of literary criticism, essays, and poems.

“Professor Madden has graciously agreed to come to the College for a minimum of three events,” Reynolds said. The visits will include the President’s Convocation September 7, the Book Fair and Authors’ Teach-In next spring and a workshop to help faculty members incorporate “Sharpshooter” into their courses.

“The purpose of this book is to build community,” Satkowiak said. “The faculty and staff are encouraged to read it, too. There will be book discussion groups open to everybody.”

This is the second year Pellissippi State has conducted the Common Book Experience, an idea that originated from a Foundations of Excellence project in which the College participated that supports first-year students’ success. The 2006-07 book selection was “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder.

"Inside Pellissippi" is a bi-monthly electronic publication produced by the Marketing and Communications Office for the faculty and staff of Pellissippi State Technical Community College, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, P.O. Box 22990, Knoxville, Tennessee 37933-0990. All suggestions and comments should be sent to Julia Wood (jwood@pstcc.edu).

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