2025-26 Common Read: The Anthropocene Reviewed
East Tennessee State University welcomed internationally acclaimed author and educator John Green as the keynote speaker for the 2026 Festival of Ideas.
Green is the No. 1 New York Times best-selling author of several acclaimed books, including “The Anthropocene Reviewed,” ETSU’s 2025–26 Common Read selection. His work has been translated into more than 55 languages, with over 24 million copies in print.
Some of his other best-selling works include “Looking for Alaska,” “An Abundance of Katherines,” “Paper Towns,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Turtles All the Way Down,” and his latest book, “Everything is Tuberculosis.”
In addition to his literary accomplishments, Green is the co-founder of the popular educational YouTube channel Crash Course, which has amassed over 10 million subscribers and 1.2 billion views.
ETSU launched the Festival of Ideas in 2019 as a platform to bring thought leaders from across disciplines to campus, encouraging meaningful dialogue and intellectual exchange among students, faculty and the wider community.
Common Read News:
An ETSU Festival of Ideas/Common Read Student Writing Project
Reviewing the World We've Made
ETSU students took part in Reviewing the World We’ve Made, a reflective writing project inspired by ETSU’s Common Read, The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green.
Their short, personal essays and writing review one aspect of the human-made world and what that subject reveals about people, connection, community, and/or meaning.
Upcoming Common Read Events:
Mary B. Martin School of the Arts Showcase
Update: Due to impending inclement weather, the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts
Showcase, originally scheduled for Jan. 31, will now be held Tuesday, March 10, beginning
at 6:30 p.m. in the Martin Center for the Arts.
The showcase features student performances, film, storytelling and visual art in a
free public event. The theme of the showcase is inspired by the ETSU Common Read and
is titled: “The Anthropocene Reviewed Through Art: Stories of what we love, what we've
lost, and what we choose to remember.” Learn more.
Previous Selections
The ETSU Common Read began in 2024 as a catalyst for connection, conversation, and community learning. Each academic year, the university will introduce a new campus read for the campus community to read and discuss.
Past selections include:
2023-24
The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
Jamil Zaki
2024-25
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
