UC Davis is preparing to engage even more in the nationwide debate over immigration, with interest at the university fueled by the choice of The Devil's Highway as the next Campus Community Book Project.

The Devil's Highway: A True Story, by Luis Alberto Urrea (pronounced "oo-RAY-ah") recounts a 2001 border incident in which 14 men died in the desert Southwest while attempting to cross from Mexico into Arizona. They were among a group of 26 men led by inexperienced "coyotes," or human smugglers.

"While the book focuses on a particular incident, the project as a whole hopes to address the much broader topic," said Gary Sue Goodman, a University Writing Program lecturer who is the book project coordinator. "With the many interdisciplinary perspectives and countries of origin, the topic of immigration is huge."

Published in 2004, The Devil's Highway was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction the next year. Urrea, a writing teacher at the University of Illinois, Chicago, followed up with an epic novel, The Hummingbird's Daughter, published in 2005.

He is scheduled to give a talk and participate in a panel discussion at UC Davis on Nov. 27 to help wrap up the Campus Community Book Project for 2007-08. The afternoon panel discussion will be free, while the evening talk will require paid admission, according to the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Kevin Johnson, associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Law, served on the committee that selected The Devil's Highway as next year's book. "It is a wonderfully written, engaging story of immigrants from Mexico seeking to come to the United States for a better life," he said.

"It's very topical with what's going on along the border today," said Johnson, the university's Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies.

The topic is not limited to Mexico, he said. Increased border enforcement worldwide is leading to an increase in human trafficking, with some "horrible human consequences."

UC Davis is inviting undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty and administrators, and community members, too, to read The Devil's Highway around the same time and to participate in a variety of events and related courses.

A news release states that The Devil's Highway should be a catalyst for a multidisciplinary exploration, including:

• History of immigration policies, laws and patterns;
• Causes of legal and illegal immigration;
• Economic, cultural and social effects of immigration;
• Impacts of gender and globalization on immigration;
• Effects of cultural and dietary change on immigrants' health;
• Economic significance of immigrant workers in California agriculture, construction and other fields;
• Immigrants' contributions to multicultural art, music, dance and literature;
• Technology of border enforcement;
• Various proposals and possibilities for immigration reform.

The Campus Council on Community and Diversity launched the Campus Community Book Project in 2001 to increase knowledge and strengthen the sense of community in and around the university, by providing a common experience and provoking dialogue.

"By reading and analyzing a book together, we are offered the opportunity to share our insights and explore those of others," Provost Virginia Hinshaw and Associate Executive Vice Chancellor Rahim Reed said in the news release.

"We encourage faculty to integrate the book into existing courses and to develop freshman seminars and other experimental courses that study immigration from varied perspectives. We urge campus units and student and community organizations to incorporate the book into training and development and book club activities."

Urrea was born in Tijuana, Mexico, to a Mexican father and an American mother, and has lived on both sides of the border. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, earning a bachelor's degree at UC San Diego. He went on to receive a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

He is the author of 10 books including The Fever of Being (poetry), Nobody's Son (memoir), Six Kinds of Sky (short stories) and Wandering Time (nature essays).

The first planning meeting for fall's Campus Community Book Project is scheduled from 10 to 11:30 a.m. March 2 in the Garrison Room at the Memorial Union. Faculty and others with expertise in immigration are invited to attend. Goodman said she plans a discussion of how best to frame the broad topic of immigration and how to develop an inclusive yet manageable series of events. For more information, e-mail Goodman at gsgoodman@ucdavis.edu.

The Devil's Highway is available in paperback, and the UC Davis Bookstore is now selling the book at a special discounted price of $9.95. Also, copies of the book will be available for review at the Office of Campus Community Relations, 412 Mrak Hall, and the University Writing Program, 176 Voorhies Hall.