ISEM under the sea – The 2016 Common Read explores consciousness through the eyes of marine invertebrates

When Sy Montgomery set out to research and write “The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness,” she was surprised about three particular things.

The first was that octopuses are far more cognizant than she expected. The second, was that three-fifths of an octopus’ neurons are not located in its brain, but rather, in its arms. As a result, octopuses can have arms that are timid and other arms that are bold.

The third, Montgomery said, was how quickly and deeply she fell in love with the community at the aquarium where she conducted research for her book.

Montgomery has written more than a dozen books about nature and animals for children and adults. Before “The Soul of an Octopus,” however, she had never written about non-terrestrial invertebrates, like octopuses.

“I write about relationships between humans and animals,” Montgomery said. “Most of the animals I have written about have been terrestrial vertebrates because we’re terrestrial vertebrates, but most of the life on this planet is marine invertebrates.”

Montgomery said she was looking to explore the mind of an animal that is vastly different than humans and cephalopods seemed like a natural choice.

When Carol Spurling, the co-owner of BookPeople of Moscow, suggested Montgomery’s latest book to the University of Idaho Common Read Committee, the committee composed of students, faculty and community members decided to name it the 2016 Common Read.

Kenton Bird, UI director of General Education, said the book has been well-received by students and faculty alike.

“We’ve had a great reaction so far to ‘The Soul of an Octopus,’” Bird said. “It’s a very popular book nationwide and we are sort of getting Sy Montgomery, who has written more than a dozen books for children and adults, on the wave of her popularity.”

Although the Common Read serves as a way to help students connect to one another on an academic level, the specific nature of the subject matter poses a challenge to instructors. Bird said each instructor is asked to integrate the Common Read into their Integrated Seminar (ISEM) 101 sections, regardless of the class’ subject.

“The challenge is that there are 30 sections of ISEM 101 and for some of them, there are 20 distinct topics, and I, as General Education director, can’t teach each of those instructors how to teach the book,” Bird said. “I recommend they devote one class period to the book before the author comes and one class after he or she has come and that they offer extra credit for attending the evening lecture.”

While integrating a pre-determined book into a class that may be unrelated to the Common Read selection is a challenge, Bird said he has found that it allows instructors to be creative and make connections in new places.

“For example, Bill Loftus is teaching ISEM about climate change,” Bird said. “He’s going to talk about how the changes in ocean temperatures are affecting marine life.”

Another professor, Tom Drake, intends to connect the emotional sensitivity of octopuses with his ISEM course, Love and Happiness.

“Tom and Sy have this great dialogue about happiness and how do octopuses fall in love and how would you know if an octopus is happy,” Bird said. “How does an octopus, through her tentacles, tell whether the human she’s relating to is scared or content or accepting? So every instructor has a different approach.”

Sy Montgomery will present her keynote address at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 in the International Ballroom of the Bruce Pitman Center. Priority seating is reserved for ISEM 101 students, but the event is free and open to the public.

Corrin Bond

can be reached at

[email protected]

or on Twitter @CorrBond

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