Welcome
The College of New Jersey’s signature Summer Reading Program for first-year and new transfer students each year selects an overall theme and a book for incoming new students to read and discuss with each other over the summer. The program culminates in a keynote by the author and a group discussion led by a faculty or staff member on Academic Welcome Day.
The 2024 Summer Reading selection for the class of 2028 isSaving Us:A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided WorldbyKatharine Hayhoe.
2024 Intellectual Theme: Connection, Coalition, Change
The Cultural and Intellectual Community Council (CICC) selects the annual intellectual theme related to the Summer Reading and distributes funds for related programming during the Academic year. The 2024 Summer Reading selection for the class of 2028 is Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe. The Intellectual Theme for CICC sponsored programs in 2024-25 is Connection, Coalition, Change. Connection, Coalition, Change centers on methods, individuals, and organizations that seek to find common ground in recognizing societal problems and finding ways to work cooperatively to effect change.
The 2024 Summer Reading selection for the class of 2028 is Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe. United Nations Champion of the Earth, climate scientist, and evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of a conversation on our changing planet. Over the past fifteen years, Hayhoe has found that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is to talk about it—and she wants to teach you how. In Saving Us, Hayhoe argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation. We need to find shared values in order to connect our unique identities to collective action. This is a unique book with a multilayered look at science, faith, and human psychology, from an icon in her field; she was recently named chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. Saving Us leaves us with the tools to open a fruitful dialogue about a controversial topic by first finding common ground and building consensus.
The theme “Connection, Coalition, Change” invites us to pursue conversations about climate change and other challenging topics. Hayhoe invites us to reflect on the concerns we share and our common goals, and to build alliances to achieve small and large scale change. We hope that reading this book will encourage the campus to engage in community-centered problem-solving and organize rich and varied programming throughout the year.
Convocation Day Schedule – August 26th, 2024
10:30am – First Book Signing
12:00pm – Lunch and Discussion with Facilitators
1:30pm – First Keynote Address
1:30pm – First Summer Reading Group Discussions
3:30pm – Second Keynote Address
3:30pm – Second Summer Reading Group Discussions
4:30pm – Second Book signing
Student Assignment Description
Completion of the Summer Reading Program, SRP 099, is a graduation requirement at TCNJ. All First Year Students are required to complete the SRP Assignment in the Summer prior to their first year at TCNJ. In order to complete this requirement please follow the instructions below. If you have any questions, please contact the SRP Team at srp@tcnj.edu.
First, post an Individual Response to the book: Choose one of the following response themes and respond by posting an essay or an alternate response to the discussion board in the SRP-099 course on Canvas. The SRP-099 Canvas course will be available from July 18th, 2024. Due Date: Friday, August 16.
You may choose to respond to a prompt in one of several ways:
- Essay
Choose one of the following response themes and answer one or more questions pertaining to the same theme in a traditional essay of approximately 500 words. In order to connect your personal ideas tothe text, your essay must make explicit references to at least three different passages from the book (this may be a short quote but it need not be). When quoting text, include the page number in parenthesis. - Alternate response
You may also choose an alternate format such as a visual art project, redesigned book cover, photo essay, comic strip, poetry, song, a music playlist, or a video response. If you choose an alternate format, your response must be accompanied with a brief explanation of its connection to the book and chosen response prompt.
Second, post a response to someone else’s Individual Response. Your response should be brief (3-5 sentences) but poignant. Due Date: Friday, August 23. Substantive responses may include:
- additional examples that address the same topics that the other student discusses;
- reflections that link your personal experience to the text; or
- questions that you may have regarding other students’ responses.
More detailed instructions on how to post your assignment will be posted within the SRP 99 Canvas course.
Student Assignment Questions
Connection
- Hayhoe offers examples of how some pastimes like cooking, biking, diving, or even just spending time outdoors are affected by a changing climate. Reflect on your hobbies and activities, and share how a changing climate may affect your ability to participate in those activities.
- Which of Katherine Hayhoe’s anecdotes about communicating with people who are/were hostile to the idea of climate change was most relatable for you?
Coalition
- What ideas did you get from the book on how to engage in positive and productive conversation on climate change?
- What are some environmental concerns specific to your community? How are people coming together to try and solve them?
- Have you ever succeeded in communicating about a controversial subject with someone who had an opposing opinion? Tell us about your strategy and how you found common ground.
Change
- What are some promising solutions to global warming that are already happening? Which strategy from the book gives you the most hope about slowing the speed of climate change?
- Chapter 19 leads off with a quote from soil ecologist, Natasja Van Gestel, Hayhoe’s colleague, who said “We all try and solve a different part of the puzzle.” What do you think your piece of the “puzzle” might be?
