Common Reading
2024-2025 Common Reading Selection
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson is the 2024-2025 Shepherd University common reading selection. All are invited to “Read the Book & Join the Conversation!” throughout the academic year (Aug. 2024-April 2025), as part of the 18th annual Common Reading Program.
About the Book:
A vital and urgent call to action about the precarious state of American democracy, charting its historical challenges and current threats, from one of our era’s most important and insightful historians. At a time when the very foundations of democracy seem under threat, the lessons of the past offer a roadmap for navigating a moment of political crisis. Richardson delves into the tumultuous journey of American democracy, examining the historical forces that have led to the current political climate. Her command of history and trademark plainspoken prose allow her to pivot effortlessly from the Founders to the abolitionists to Reconstruction to Nixon to the January 6 insurrection, highlighting the political legacies of the New Deal, the lingering fears of socialism, the death of the liberal consensus, and the birth of “movement conservatism.” Richardson reminds us that democracy is not a static institution but a living, evolving process that requires constant vigilance and participation from all of us. This powerful testament to the resilience of democratic ideals shows how we, as a nation, can take the lessons of the past to address today’s challenges and secure a more just and equitable future.
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The Common Reading Program is made possible through the support of the Shepherd University Foundation. 
Additional sponsors include Scarborough Library; Shepherd University Bookstore; Four Seasons Bookstore in Shepherdstown, WV; individual donors; the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History & Education; and other partners across the campus and community.
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