Common Reading Program, Fall 2023

During the Fall of 2023, Goldey-Beacom College began an inaugural first-year reading program to foster common intellectual and social engagement among first-year students and the GBC community. In ENG 175 Critical Writing I, students read a graphic work of nonfiction, Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness, by Kristen Radtke. In addition to analyzing her work, students wrote personal narratives and created visual expressions of their encounters with loneliness. Their works were displayed in a gallery exhibition in GBC’s Hirons Library. In the exhibition, students used a variety of media, from collage to digital imagery, to respond to an overarching theme of Radtke’s book: “[L]oneliness is one of the most universal things any person can feel.” Through their art, students shared their visions of loneliness, longing, and the need for connection in our post-pandemic world.

On November 6, the author visited the college, where she read from her work and described her process of creating her work.

 This page contains images of the posters in the Hirons library created by students for course projects for the Common Reading Program, 2023. The Common Reading Program book was "Seek You" by Kristen Radtke. These posters were displayed in the Hirons Library in November 2023.