2023-2024 Common Read: A Map is Only One Story: Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family and the Meaning of Home, edited by Nicole Chung & Mensah Demary
Purpose: In keeping with Bergen Community College’s mission and equity statement, the purpose of the common reading of A Map is Only One Story is to promote a campus environment that advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Goals:
- Engage students, faculty, administration, staff and community in discussion of topics and questions of equity and social justice through a shared reading;
- Give students a positive reading experience by sharing the content of the reading through activities both inside and outside the classroom, thus helping students make connections between classroom and out-of-classroom experiences;
- Encourage campus-wide dialog and interdisciplinary explorations of topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the academic year by a variety of activities.
A Map is Only One Story: Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family and the Meaning of Home, edited by Nicole Chung & Mensah Demary, is a collection of essays, which highlight the human side of immigration policies and polarized rhetoric as the writers share personal stories of existing between languages and cultures. From rediscovering an ancestral village in China to experiencing the realities of American life as a Nigerian, the search for belonging crosses borders and generations. A provocative collection of writers from all over the world, among its many themes are migration and belonging, family, identity, invisibility, language, community, and culture.
The committee working on the project is interdisciplinary and includes faculty, staff, students, and administration.
Fall Events
September 5
Faculty Development Workshop: Teaching A Map is Only One Story, 1:40-2:30 p.m.
September 14
Faculty Development Workshop: Teaching A Map is Only One Story, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
September 26
Faculty Development Workshop: More than One Story – Digital Storytelling, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
September 28
Faculty Development Workshop: More than One Story – Digital Storytelling, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 4
Reading Group, 12:30-1:30 p.m. in C313
“Why We Cross the Border in El Paso”
Open to students, faculty, and staff
Wednesday, October 11
Lecture, 11:00-12:15 p.m. in S134
“Jim Crow, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and Anti-Immigrant Prejudices”
Dr. Kil Yi, History Department
Co-sponsored by the Center for Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation
Wednesday, October 11
Honors Salon, 12:30-1:30 p.m. in S-134
The Honors Association (HA) of the School of Honors and LASA club, will facilitate a
Salon on this Year’s Common Read, A Map is Only One Story. The students from the
HA and LASA will share their stories of immigration. All are encouraged to come and
either listen or share if they wish.
Im/migration: A Week of Activities and Events
Monday, October 23
12:00-2:00 p.m. Lobby of Ciccone Theater
Music from Around the World
Co-sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs
Tuesday, October 24
12:00-1:00 p.m. in Lyndhurst, Student Center
Music from Around the World
Co-sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs
Tuesday, October 24
1:45 p.m. in Ciccone Theater
Michael Wildes, Mayor, Englewood, NJ, and Immigration Attorney
Tuesday, October 24
6:30 p.m. in C325
Lecture: “Current Issues in Immigration Law”
David Nachman, Esq.
Co-sponsored by the Legal Studies Club
Wednesday, October 25
Heritage Festival
Co-sponsored by the International Club
Thursday, October 26
Launching of “More than One Story” Bergen Anthology
November 28
Reading Group 4:00-5:00 p.m.