Common Reading Programme
About the Common Reading Programme
The University of Hertfordshire Common Reading Programme is a university-wide reading programme focused on first-year students.
Students, faculty and staff are asked to read the same book and participate in discussions and activities in the classroom and on campus.
The programme provides an introduction to:
- academic expectations and intellectual engagement
- a common experience with peers from across different disciplines
- opportunities for self-reflection
- critical thinking
- a meaningful and fun experience.
Across the community
A key feature of the programme will be its distribution across the university academic community, providing opportunities for engagement both within and across the institution's diverse disciplines. It will foster in students an awareness of the breadth and richness of the university's intellectual environment, a sense of community and collaboration and an understanding of the value of interdisciplinary dialogue.
Partners abroad
The programme also serves as a common experience for students to share with first-year students at our partner university in the US, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Students will be asked to engage with their peers in the US via social media and organised events. Students who participate in the programme will be eligible to enter a competition in Semester B. A prize will be awarded to a number of winning entries, paying for students to fly to Wilmington, North Carolina, as a delegation to meet with counterparts from the UNCW programme.
Focus on first-year students
While all students are encouraged to participate in the Common Reading Experience, the programme is designed specifically for first-year students. Over the next academic year, the book will be used in level four modules as determined by faculty. Events that relate to the themes and content of the book will be hosted on campus throughout the academic year.
Contact Chris Krantz, Director of the Common Reading Programme, with any questions.
Faculty and staff
We encourage faculty members to incorporate the book into their course curriculum in the 2013–2014 academic year.
Faculty and staff can get involved in the Common Reading Programme in numerous ways:
Read and encourage students and colleagues to read the selection Share ideas with students and colleagues about the book and its themes Incorporate the text into a course you teach or programme you work with Share expertise as a guest speaker in another class or for a Common Reading event Attend Common Reading events and encourage others to attend Facilitate informal discussion groups
