This year’s Three Books for new students focus on cities, community-building | Academics - The Stanford Daily

Civil and environmental engineering professor Sarah Billington selected the Three Books through a meticulous process, she said, focusing on cities and aiming to “increase [students’] sense of belonging by engaging with and contributing to their community.” by Mira Ravi, Author at The Stanford Daily.

Photo: L.A. Cicero/Stanford News

On June 24, incoming students received the Three Books of Stanford’s 2019 common reading program: “There There,” “Silicon City: San Francisco in the Long Shadow of the Valley” and “The Just City Essays: 26 Visions for Urban Equity, Inclusivity and Opportunity.” Civil and environmental engineering professor Sarah Billington selected the Three Books through a meticulous process, she said, focusing on cities and aiming to “increase [students’] sense of belonging by engaging with and contributing to their community.”

Stanford’s common reading program is a longstanding tradition. Until 2004, the books that freshmen read varied by dorm because resident fellows from each dorm would select the books. Since that year, however, all freshmen and transfer students have been assigned the same three texts to read over the summer. Also since 2004, the authors of the Three Books have been invited to the University to answer students’ questions and to discuss the books...

With this commitment in mind, Billington selected books that revolve around the theme of cities. Tommy Orange’s “There There” is about the narratives of several Native Americans whose stories are all connected in some way. Cary McClelland’s “Silicon City” focuses on the impact of technology on San Francisco, and “The Just City Essays” features 26 different authors from 22 cities who share their opinions on what a “just city” would look like.

Billington hopes the Three Books will communicate to students a message of belonging in a community, as Stanford will be a new community for the majority of incoming students.
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Source: The Stanford Daily