Book for 2007 Carolina Summer Reading Program Announced
The 2007 Summer Reading Program Book Selection Committee has chosen The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions, by Sister Helen Prejean, for the 2007 Carolina Summer Reading Program. More details will be available on this website on March 1, 2007.
Overview
The Carolina Summer Reading Program is designed to provide a common experience for incoming students, to enhance participation in the intellectual life of the campus through stimulating discussion and critical thinking around a current topic, and to encourage a sense of community between students, faculty and staff.
This year's reading is The Namesake by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri.
On Monday, August 21, 2006, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., all new first-year and transfer students are expected to attend small group discussions led by selected faculty and staff. This is an opportunity for you to connect with members of Carolina's learning community and your new peers. New students can learn more about preparing for these discussions by visiting this website after May 15th and exploring the "Related Resources" section below.
Anyone interested in finding out about previous book selections, may refer to the Other First Year Initiatives section of this website.
The Book for Summer 2006
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake is a moving account of an immigrant family's experiences in America. The book begins with Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli's arrival in Boston from Calcutta and follows them through the challenges they confront finding their way in a new cultural landscape. The birth of Gogol, their first born child, is a powerful event that gives focus to their hopes, dreams, and expectations. Although he is born in America, the complexities of biculturalism haunt Gogol as he makes his way through college and young adulthood, falling in and out of love, and becoming increasingly conflicted by name, home and culture.
While the novel is about a family emigrating from India to the United States, its themes are universal and may be particularly meaningful for students making the transition into college and the Carolina community. The issues with which Gogol struggles, such as navigating cultural boundaries, exploring value systems, establishing independence, and searching for an authentic self, are foundational aspects of the college student experience.
Powerful and engaging, The Namesake lends itself to exploring a wide range of discussion points, making it an excellent choice for Carolina's Summer Reading Program.
Purchasing Information: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003) is available in paperback at the Bull's Head Bookshop in the UNC Student Stores for $10.00 (a savings of $4.00 off the publisher's price). The book will also be available at CTOPS and TSOP summer orientation sessions. If you purchase the book at CTOPS or TSOP you can eliminate shipping charges. Books may be ordered now at www.store.unc.edu.
The Author
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Jhumpa Lahiri was born 1967 in London, England, and raised in Rhode Island. She is a graduate of Barnard College, where she received a B.A. in English literature, and of Boston University, where she received an M.A. in English, M.A. in Creative Writing , M.A. in Comparative Studies in Literature and the Arts, and a Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies. She has taught creative writing at Boston University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Her debut collection, Interpreter of Maladies, won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It was translated into twenty-nine languages and became a bestseller both in the United States and abroad. In addition to the Pulitzer, it received the PEN/Hemingway Award, the New Yorker Debut of the Year award, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Addison Metcalf Award, and a nomination for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Lahiri was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002. The Namesake is Jhumpa Lahiri's first novel. She lives in New York with her husband and son. |
Related Resources
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Related Events |
Other UNC-Chapel Hill First Year Initiatives
First Year Seminars
2005 Carolina Summer Reading Program
2004 Carolina Summer Reading Program
2003 Carolina Summer Reading Program
2002 Carolina Summer Reading Program
2001 Carolina Summer Reading Program
2000 Carolina Summer Reading Program
1999 Carolina Summer Reading Program
Resources for Book Discussion Leaders
Guidelines for Discussion Leaders
The Carolina Summer Reading Program developed from recommendations made by the 1997 Chancellor's Task Force on Intellectual Climate to improve the first-year student orientation experience. For questions/comments, send email to read@unc.edu.
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Last revised: January 24, 2007.
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