Name the 2022 College Readings! Delivered

The campus community is invited to name book titles like the College Reads book for 2022.

The College reads! is the College of Charleston’s campus-wide after-school common reading program designed to connect students, faculty and staff around a single book to promote the idea that liberal educated people read widely and discuss among themselves ideas from the books they share. All incoming students, peer educators and tenured professors receive a copy of the book. Additional copies are available for large-scale borrowing and sharing on campus.

Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to recommend titles for 2022 and get involved by serving on The College Reads (TCR) committee and / or providing feedback on titles recommended for selection.

In soliciting book recommendations, the College Reads Committee welcomes works of fiction and non-fiction; several titles within the same theme; or other innovative ideas. For example, your idea for a book might support a broad concept like “justice”. The committee is also keen to receive nominations from books that feature people whose actions have sparked social change or whose contribution to a social movement or important discovery has been overlooked. For several years, the TCR committee has been looking for the right book to open the discussion on climate change and / or climate migration. Books that advance our collective understanding of race, racism, anti-racism at large or more locally in the context of Charleston would be welcome. The TCR committee strives to be attentive to the diversity of authors and invites you to do the same. Books are welcome in any area that you believe will advance the goals of the program.

Whatever the subject of the book, please consider the selection criteria below when submitting recommendations:

• Intellectually stimulating – a book that stretches students’ minds, gets students to think about topics or problems they may not have encountered before, or a book that addresses familiar themes in a new way.
• Legible – a pleasant, engaging book of manageable length (typically
• A living author – one of the highlights of The College Reads! is a public lecture by the author of the book and an opportunity for students who have read the book to meet the author in small groups.
• Challenging – a book that will spark discussion on campus; one that will provide a means for several campus departments and constituencies to develop engaging extracurricular activities throughout the academic year.
• Relevant – a book with a subject or a theme that will resonate with the campus; a book in which the pupils can situate themselves, situate their life and their future.

To recommend a book, please complete this short referral form. This will allow the committee to keep track of submissions and give each book its full consideration. Please do not hesitate to pass on this call for books to the friends of the College in the community. Please consult the List of past books to be sure your title has not been featured in a previous year.

Please try to make your nominations by October 15, 2021. However, the committee is open to receiving book nominations until the selection is made.

This fall, the TCR will meet virtually to begin with, but will hopefully switch to in-person meetings as COVID-19 allows. The committee meets every Wednesday at 9 a.m. for one hour. Everyone is invited to participate in the selection process by serving on the committee or simply reading books from the list of recommendations and providing feedback to the committee. The committee maintains an open selection process designed to accommodate those who cannot attend weekly committee meetings by posting the list of books under review with updates after each meeting on College reads website. You can read more about the process and view the committee selection schedule on the TCR website under “To participate. “If you are interested in joining the committee or have any questions, please email [email protected].

The 2021 program is running successfully with More story: how we got to climate change and where to go from here, by Hope Jahren. Incoming students received the book prior to the virtual orientation with a Reading guide and Convocation test. Convocation discussions with faculty covered a variety of book themes, and students produced a series of compelling essays.

Jahren will visit the campus virtually and his public lecture will be broadcast live at the Sottile Theater on Monday, October 25, 2021 at 7 p.m. This conference is free and open to the public. You can find details of his visit as they are finalized and information on all upcoming events at The College reads! website.