Common Ground

Common Ground reading initiative seeks to put first-year students on solid footing

This summer incoming liberal arts majors received something they didn’t expect:  a reading assignment.

All students attending a new student and transfer student orientation received complimentary copies of Typical American by Gish Jen.  They also were asked to have read the book by the time they arrive on campus for fall classes. The book is the story of Ralph Chang, a young Chinese man who immigrates to the U.S. to pursue his education and the American Dream. It is at once funny, poignant, and serious, and always thought-provoking. As Jen has said of her work, “the American Dream is much more complicated than you would think. I think I’m just trying to capture some of that complexity.”

During the academic year, students may choose to take part in panels, online discussions, courses, and other events built around the book. The reading exercise is part of a new program called Common Ground. It aims to create a common first-year experience for incoming students – one that emphasizes a serious, introspective consideration of timely and timeless topics—in this case, immigration, education, and the pursuit of happiness. During the academic year, students may choose to take part in panels, online discussions, courses, and other events built around the book.

An exit strategy
The reason for the program is simple, says Liberal Arts Dean Charles A. Johnson. “The sooner we can begin to challenge and engage our students, the better their chances of graduating from Texas A&M.”

“The idea here is to create a smaller community within the larger university setting that helps first-year students begin building their intellectual and critical thinking capabilities,” says Pamela R. Matthews, professor of English and associate dean.

A growing trend
The idea of a first-year experience is nothing new on college campuses.

“Many other universities have had a common reading program and have successfully documented these efforts as educationally sound ways to enhance undergraduate education,” says Matthews. “There are national professional organizations devoted to studying the best practices of ‘first-year experiences’ on college campuses.”

At first the initiative was confined to the College, but queries from other campus programs have broadened its reach. In addition to activities within the College of Liberal Arts, other offices organizing educational activities around Typical American include Residence Life, Multicultural Services, and the Aggie Access Learning Communities.

Aggie Access Learning Communities serve freshmen and sophomores in the Colleges of Liberal Arts, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Geosciences as well as General Academics. It has had a common summer reading program since 2003.  Laura Wimberley, program director, says her staff selected Typical American for this year’s reading when they learned that several of the Aggie Access students (liberal arts majors) had been assigned to read the book.

“We gave each student a red, white, and blue bookmark with several prompts to encourage their reading of Typical American,” Wimberley says. “We also are considering a variety of optional activities to incorporate throughout the year, such as screening Chinese-American/immigrant experience films, having an Open-Mike night, an essay contest, a food-based activity, and, hopefully, some student-led and student-inspired items.”

Book selection criteria
A Liberal Arts committee selects the book to be assigned to the incoming students. They look for a book that will be accessible and interesting to first-year students, and at the same time challenging intellectually. It has to have literary merit and should lend itself to a number of approaches so that it can be used in a variety of classes across the College.

Brazos Valley Reads, an annual community reading project that originated in the Department of English, also has chosen Typical American. Organizers will sponsor Gish Jen’s visit to Bryan-College Station in April 2007 as the project’s culminating event.

Contact:
Leanne South, 979-845-6294, lsouth@tamu.edu
Pamela R. Matthews, 979-845-8509, p-matthews@tamu.edu