Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover, will be CSUN's Freshman Common Reading for 2020-2021. During spring 2020, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to join colleagues for a series of workshop-style book discussion exploring ways to teach and discuss the book. Dates will be added to this page soon. Workshop handouts, notes, and assignment ideas from those discussions will be available below.
We've got a deal for interested Faculty and Staff!
UPDATE! We do still have physical books left, however we will not be able to distribute them until normal campus activity returns. In the meantime, there are alternative ways to read the book.
- The Oviatt Library has access to an ebook version of Educated through OneSearch.
- Los Angeles Public Library has an audiobook and an ebook version (though you may have to place a hold for them).
- The audiobook is available through Audible. If you haven't done so before, you can do a trial subscription for free, and choose Educated as your free book.
The deal is: you get one free copy in exchange for your promise to speak about the book with at least one new CSUN freshman in fall 2020. Some possible conversation starters:
"Have you read Educated yet?" Or:
"I see you are reading Educated. How do you like it so far?" Or:
"I read this book over the summer. I thought the most powerful part was __________. Have you read that part yet?" Or:
"Are you reading this book for a class? Which one?"
This is a limited offer, and will last only until we run out of books! You can email Susanna Eng-Ziskin (susanna.eng[at]csun.edu) and include your campus address (with mail code), along with a promise that you will talk about the book, however briefly, with at least one new CSUN freshman in fall 2020.
Resources for teaching and discussing the book
With your help ( and contributions from book discussion leaders and participants ), this collection of resources will continue to grow. Please suggest additions by emailing susanna.eng[at]csun.edu.