2022-2023 Common Read: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Purpose: In keeping with BCC’s mission and equity statement, the purpose of the common reading of Hidden Figures is to promote a campus environment that advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Goals:

  1. Engage students, faculty, administration, staff and community in discussion of topics and questions of equity and social justice through a shared reading;
  2. 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;
  3. Encourage campus-wide dialog and interdisciplinary explorations of topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the academic year by a variety of activities.

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, recovers the history of these pioneering women and situates it in the intersection of the defining movements of 20th century America: the Cold War, the Space Race, the Civil Rights Movement and the quest for gender equality.  Published in 2016, this New York Times bestseller by Margot Lee Shetterly is the basis for the popular movie of the same name. A powerful and rich narrative, in addition to the historical periods and movements, the book touches on many themes–among them are race relations, education, parenting, WW II, NASA, social/political climate of the 1940s-60s, and the American Dream.

The committee working on the project is interdisciplinary and includes faculty, staff, students, and administration.

Library guide: https://bergen.libguides.com/hiddenfigures

Common Read Committee
Lou Ethel Roliston, English
Carol Miele, ESL
Gemma Figaro, ESL
Maureen Ellis-Davis, Sociology
Sara Mastellone, Developmental Math
Luis de Abreu, STEM
Eileen Fitzgerald, English Basic Skills
Seamus Gibbons, Comp/Lit, Judith Winn School of Honors
Jessica Datema, Comp/Lit, Literary Arts Series
Iris Bucchino, English Basic Skills, IST
Pam Haji, English Basic Skills, WAC
Kevin Olbrys, Philosophy and Religion
Keith Chu, History
Christine Eubank, History, Women & Gender Studies
Lisa Mayer, Legal Studies, PTK
Anna Gergen, PTK and Honors
Tim Blunk, Bergen Gallery, Art
Daniel Sheehan, Music
Jim Bumgardner, Performing Arts
Joan Dalrymple, Library, Faculty Development
Kate Hossain, Library
Tracy Rand, Office of Special Services
Colleen Tedesco, Office of Special Services, Turning Point
Gregory Fenkart, Student Affairs
Amanda Kulesza, Student Government Association
Mi Ah, Psychology, Institute for Multicultural Learning
Amarjit Kaur, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Tonya McCoy, Institutional Research
Aida Castro-Henix, Equal Opportunity Fund
April Harrison, Summer Intensive Program
Hilda Buitriago, Enrollment Management
Deborah Manning, Dean, Adjunct Administration, Sociology
Adam Goodell, Dean, Humanities and Interim Dean, Business and Social Science
Emily Vandalovsky, Dean of Math, Science, and Technology