Common Read 2024-25: Banned Books
Books have been banned throughout history, yet over the past year there has been a resurgence of censoring or banning certain kinds of books. The 2024/25 CSUSM Campus Common Read will facilitate a common educational experience around the issues of banning books. Including exposing first year students to books that center African American, Latinx, Asian American, American Indian, LGBTQ and other characters, or challenge status quo, which have traditionally been targeted for removal from school and public libraries alike. Over 30 states have proposed or are considering legislation that attempts to limit access to books. Bans like these limit the ability for individuals and their parents to make decisions about what they read. Reading books with diverse characters gives us a wider understanding of the world around us and helps to build empathy.
Students will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts to explore, along with supplementary materials about banning books and censoring ideas.
The five Campus Common Read books that the committee selected include:
- Baddawi, Leila Abdelrazaq
- The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
- An Indigenous People's History of the United States, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- The Name Jar, Yangsook Choi
- V for Vendetta, Alan Moore