UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A striking photograph of two Afghan women, heavily cloaked in blue burqas and roaming along a barren mountainside, hangs in 102 HUB-Robeson Center. One of the women, Noor Nisa, is in labor. She’s temporarily stranded, waiting for her husband to find a working vehicle so she can safely deliver the baby in a hospital.
Pulitzer-Prize winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario found this scene in the Badakhshan Province, snapping a picture that would ultimately end up in National Geographic.
The image is also part of a poignant exhibit showcasing Addario’s work. Sponsored by Nikon, the collection will remain open to the public through at least the end of the fall semester.
Addario’s bestselling memoir, “It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War,” was selected as the 2017-18 common text for the Penn State Reads program. She chronicles her experiences in conflict areas plagued by humanitarian crises, touching on themes of identity and freedom.
First-year students are charged with reading “It’s What I Do,” stimulating critical thinking and sparking a shared experience — within and beyond the classroom.
Barry Bram, the Penn State Reads Committee co-chair, encourages students and community members to finish the book prior to visiting the HUB exhibit. That way, photographs documenting the plight of refugees and the rise of the Taliban will carry an even deeper meaning.
“I think it’s important to have a better sense of her story because you’ll get a better sense of what she’s trying to do as a photojournalist,” Bram said. “There’s a pretty diverse representation of photos.”
Addario recently came to State College for the Penn State Reads signature event, lecturing on her photojournalistic endeavors that have spanned the globe. She also hosted a book signing and visited several classes to further discuss her career.
To learn more about the photo exhibit and Penn State Reads, visit pennstatereads.psu.edu. Penn State Reads is run jointly by Penn State Student Affairs and Penn State Undergraduate Education.