The national debate on immigration -- perhaps the hottest political and social issue of our time -- has made its way to the UC Davis campus by way of the 2007-2008 Campus Community Book Project. This year's book is "The Devil's Highway: A True Story," by Luis Alberto Urrea, recounting a 2001 incident in which 14 men died in the desert Southwest while crossing from Mexico to Arizona.

Immigration is "a hot topic," as lawmakers struggle with reform, said Gary Sue Goodman, assistant director of the University Writing Program and coordinator of the book project, presented by the Office of Campus Community Relations.

In selecting the book, "We knew it was sensitive," Goodman said. "It's the most controversial topic we've ever done" in the history of the book project.

The book will be the launching pad for dozens of talks, discussions and film screenings throughout the next two months. The author is scheduled to visit campus the last week of November, though UC Davis' own professors are also widely featured.

"Participation by faculty is greater than ever before," Goodman said. "People from various disciplines really wanted to be involved. We have so many experts who have been doing research and teaching in this area."

Among them are two law professors: Bill Hing, who is on the book project events calendar with an Oct. 11 talk titled "History of U.S. Immigration Policy," and Kevin Johnson, associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Law, who is listed as the moderator for an Oct. 24 panel discussion titled "Why Do We Blame Immigrants ... for Everything? Borders, Racism, Capitalism and the War on Terror."

Films include "Thirty Days with the Gonzalez Family" (Nov. 6), "The Great Mojado Invasion: The Second U.S.-Mexico War, Part 2" (Nov. 7) and "Dying to Leave" (Nov. 14), with discussions to follow all five screenings on the schedule.

The idea behind the annual book project, begun after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is to get a respectful discussion going among the university's diverse population, by having people read the same book at the same time and participate in related events.

"This is an important social and political issue, one that has everything to do with diversity," Goodman said. "We at UC Davis have an opportunity to frame the debate."

And in doing so, the university can present the facts and discuss the varied arguments and perspectives without letting emotions dominate, Goodman said.

For more information on the campus community book project and the complete schedule of events for this project, go to: http://occr.ucdavis.edu/ccbp2007.