Each summer Middlesex School students and faculty, both new and returning, participate together in the All-School Read (ASR). The ASR is an opportunity to think about topics of personal and political significance. Successful texts engage our imagination, our conscience, and our intellect. They invite us to look critically and creatively at ourselves, our communities, and our world.
This summer’s All-School Read, The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, is a science fiction novella written from the year 2393, recounting the origins of the “Great Collapse of 2093,” when climate catastrophe caused a radical shift of life and power on this planet. Compelling and thought-provoking, this cautionary tale is grounded in the scientific research of Oreskes and Conway, professors at Harvard and California Institute of Technology, who hope this fictitious story will help prevent the disasters their research predicts.
In the fall, our Middlesex School community will gather together to discuss this book and reflect on its message. We are delighted to be welcoming Dr. Robert Kaufmann as our guest speaker that weekend. Dr. Kaufmann is the Chair of the Geography and Environmental Department and Director of Graduate Studies for the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University, as well as Co-Founder of First Fuel Software. He will address our community on the topic of his current research and of this All-School Read: climate change.
Before the end of the school year, a short list of questions about the text will be posted online at www.mxschool.edu/All-School Read. Students, parents, and friends of the school are encouraged to consider this guide while they read.