Each year since 2004, Texas State has presented an academic theme with related events for everyone — students, faculty, staff, and community members. Pictured here: death-row exoneree Anthony Graves speaks to a capacity crowd in Evans Auditorium about our 2017-18 theme, The Search for Justice.
History
COMMON EXPERIENCE, 2004 TO PRESENT
A Shared Conversation
In 2004, Dr. Denise Trauth, President of Texas State University, announced an initiative designed to cultivate a common intellectual conversation across the campus. "Early on, the vision was to connect entering students to a shared conversation," Trauth said in 2008, "but it quickly grew to include upper-level classes, student support services, campus activities, performing arts, and the San Marcos schools and community. The intentional connecting of many facets of university life is the kind of project that a small private liberal arts college might take on, but we cannot find evidence of a large public university ever having undertaken something so ambitious and encompassing."
Previous Themes
Previous Speakers
The Common Experience at Texas State has hosted some of the world's most iconic and distinguished voices, from poet Maya Angelou to astronaut José Hernández. Pictured here: environmental activist Erin Brockovich addresses a massive crowd in 2007.
Previous Books
We provide all incoming first-year students with a powerful Common Reading book related to the year's theme. Students discuss the book in University Seminar and other courses.
