Each year, all freshmen read the same books, providing a common ground for discussion, learning, and introduction to college in all first-year seminar courses. These texts often explore themes such as diversity, equity, and humanity, and can be discussed across a range of academic disciplines and perspectives.
The co-student text for the freshman seminar next academic year will be “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” by disability rights activist Judith Heumann (co-authored with Kristen Joyner). Heumann is one of the most influential disability rights activists in U.S. history, and in this memoir she recounts her journey as a disabled person who asserted her right to an education, a job, and to be treated as a human being.
Professor Peter Van Tyn.
Across the U.S., Heumann’s demonstrations were pivotal in the passage of the Disability Rights Bill. She also founded national and international disability advocacy groups and served in high-ranking federal government positions. Heumann’s influence and impact on disability rights continues to this day, and Peter Vantine, professor and director of the Freshman Seminar Program at St. Michael’s College, said it was one of the factors that attracted the committee members who selected the common document.
“The book was one of the finalists last year but it wasn’t the book we chose. We seriously reconsidered it this year,” Vantin said.
He adds: “When thinking about common texts, we wanted books that could be considered from different angles: books that could take a sociological approach, a scientific or biological approach, a historical approach, a literary approach. The course should be interdisciplinary and should encourage reflection on diversity.”
At the age of two, Heumann contracted polio and began using a wheelchair. Heumann faced many challenges from an early age, such as being refused school attendance because she was deemed a “fire hazard” and being advised by doctors to be institutionalized. However, her parents always supported her and fought for her rights.
“The book begins in a very striking way,” Vantine says. “There was never any question that Judy Heumann’s parents wanted their daughter to have the fullest life possible. It’s a striking opening in which the authors make it clear that while to the doctors at the time their daughter’s very existence was in doubt, it was never in doubt to her parents.”
The cover of “Being Human,” the St. Michael’s College common textbook for the 2024-25 academic year.
According to Vantine, this is the first time that a common text for the freshman seminar will be a disability memoir.
“The broader topic of disability came to mind because I realized that of all the different diversity topics that we’ve explored over the past decade, disability was one that we had never really addressed in any real depth,” Vantine said, who also noted the impact that St. Michael’s Disability Student Advocacy Alliance (SDAA) group has had in raising awareness of disability advocacy on campus.
Heumann died last March at age 75. After her death, the SDAA held a memorial service in the Alliot lobby, where people celebrated her life and passed around pieces of paper bearing her famous quotes, most of which were taken from her memoir, Vantine recalled.
“I think SDAA has done a lot to raise awareness of disability rights on campus, and it’s helped raise my own awareness specifically as an individual,” Vantine said.
Each year, approximately three faculty or staff members are asked to write a short essay reflection that presents a range of ideas, perspectives, and approaches to the text. These essays are shared with first-year students and also serve as examples of thoughtful writing about the book. This year, Professor Patrick Standen from the Department of Philosophy and Ethics will write one of the essays. Professor Standen teaches several classes at St. Michael’s and his areas of expertise include philosophy of disability and medical ethics. He is also the author of Disability: A Genealogy of a Concept from Prehistory to the Mid-20th Century, a survey of the history of disability that examines the concept of disability from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Another essay will be written by Professor Sefakor Komab Pomey, a native of Ghana and adjunct lecturer at St. Michael’s University. Professor Komab Pomey is an international disability rights advocate, educator, researcher, and policy analyst. She has taught a seminar class called Peace and Justice: Disability, a Purposeful Learning course, and a graduate policy class on Ethical Leadership with Disabilities. She is also the author of “I’m Able: A Woman’s Advice for Disability Change Agents,” a book about her life and journey after losing both legs to polio.
“Apart from the panel discussion, we would like to hold a separate event with Professor Standen and Professor Komav Pomaye to talk about their own books,” Vatine said.
The third essay will be written by Professor Patricia Shipron of the Department of Political Science and International Relations. Professor Shipron is involved in advocacy work on a variety of social justice issues, including global AIDS awareness, and serves as faculty advisor for the St. Michael’s chapter of the Students Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC).
“She sees herself as more than just a scholar; she sees herself as an activist, and she engages her students in activism,” Vantine said. “So much of the book is about the author’s life but also her activism, so I thought Professor Cypron would provide an interesting perspective on that aspect of the book.”
Vantine said Heumann’s book has had a huge impact on him as an educator and he believes it has much to offer the St. Michael’s community as well.
“The book revolves around the idea of access, and specifically access to education,” he said. “As an educator, that’s something that really resonates with me. I think that’s an aspect of the book that gives us a lot of things to talk about in educational institutions.”
Vantine hopes incoming students will be similarly inspired by Heumann’s legacy and perspective.
“We hope that our freshman students will be interested in learning about the experiences of someone who has had such a profound impact on national and international policy on disability and accessibility, and that they will be exposed to parts of her story that will lead to discussions with their classmates, faculty and staff once they arrive on campus,” he said.