What Is PREFACE? 
Each year the entire USC Upstate community--from Student Affairs to academic departments--reads a single book and offers a range of activities centered on the book's theme to help you meet staff, faculty, and fellow students while you learn more about the PREFACE theme. PREFACE combines academic courses like English 101-102 with extracurricular activities such as visits from nationally known authors to create a meaningful social and educational experience for all USC Upstate first-year students. Students are also eligible to participate in the 2010 Student Essay Contest, featuring a $250 first-place prize.
**NOTE: English 101 and most University 101 students are required to attend at least two (2) PREFACE events during the semester.
Join the PREFACE group on Facebook to stay informed about upcoming events and course requirements.
PREFACE Theme 2010-2011--In the Name of Science: Exploring The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
This fall, as a member of the first-year class enrolled in English 101, you will read a highly acclaimed best seller, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Rebecca Skloot learned about Henrietta Lacks in a biology class in an alternative school. It became a story she couldn’t forget, and she spent 10 years reading, researching, and writing this book. As we come together to read, discuss, and write about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, we hope you discover ideas and learn to form questions that stay with you far beyond your first-year at USC Upstate.
Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951, but she lives on today. Cells from a biopsy of her cervical cancer – taken without her consent - became the first immortal cell culture, the HeLa cells. Her cells, one of the most important tools in medicine, were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovering secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; and leading to advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping.
But the woman for whom the cells are named is virtually unknown. She was a tobacco farmer who is buried in an unmarked grave. Although HeLa cells have been bought and sold by the billions, her family has never seen any of the profits, and one of her adult sons cannot afford treatment for his own cancer.
This fall you will read her story and think and write about issues such as bioethics, scientific development, and the effect of race, class, and gender on medical care. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is an especially appropriate study as our country debates health care and the expanding possibilities of scientific research which hold more promise and raise more concerns about privacy and human dignity than ever before.
The events in the PREFACE series will give us a better understanding of the book, of the ethical and personal issues we face, and of the power of knowledge to help us make better decisions for ourselves and others. These events include:
A game show contest about the book, complete with prizes
Film screenings and guest lectures related to HeLa cell research and medical ethics
A student-led conference, students leading students in exploring the ideas and issues raised in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Opportunities for service to local cancer research and community support organizations
A student essay contest. The USC Upstate Writing Program will award two prizes to the best textual analysis essays on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The first place prize will be $250. The second place prize will be $100. Winners will be recognized at the Student-Led Conference on November 9th and may have their work featured in department or university publications. Contact your English 101 professors for more details.
PREFACE Goals
The intent of this series of programs is to help USC Upstate first-year students make connections to each other and to the University, to practice skills that contribute to success in college, and to discuss how a deeper understanding of a shared reading can inform the way we make personal decisions and influence public policy today.
For more information about previous PREFACE Program readings and events, see the PREFACE Program Archive.
Resources for English 101 Students:
Eblast Weekly Student Newsletter