The purpose of the Common Read Program at Colorado College is to create a common intellectual experience for incoming undergraduate students, to introduce them to our core values as an academic community, and to teach them how to engage as members of our community of scholars.

2024-2025 Common Read

belonging: a culture of place, by bell hooks

"We are born and have our being in a place of memory...Memories offer us a world where there is no death, where we are sustained by rituals of regard and recollection." - bell hooks

belonging: a culture of place is a powerful and provocative text that explores the concept of belonging, particularly as it relates to race, class, and place. Through a blend of personal memoir, cultural criticism, and social commentary, hooks challenges us to consider the complexities of identity, community, and the places we call home.

As you begin your transition into this next phase of life, this text will ask you to consider what it means to call a place home. Who is allowed to become a member of a community, and how do factors such as race, class, and gender shape our sense of belonging? Traversing past and present, Belonging charts a cyclical journey in which hooks moves from place to place, from country to city and back again, only to discover that the places we call home are those where we can be our most authentic selves.

You can learn more about the text through the Tutt Library LibGuide. If you are a member of a department, program, or office hosting programming related to the Common Read and would like your event added to the website, please contact Brett Gray, student support specialist in the Office of Academic Programs: bgray@coloradocollege.edu.