The First Year Common Reading for 2019-20 and 2020-21 is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
A limited number of paper copies will be available for one-week loan at the Library Service Desk. Instructors needing access to the text should email the Library Director at library@mville.edu.
The author's site is here: https://angiethomas.com/the-hate-u-give
A trailer for the screen adaptation of the novel appears below.
Themes below can connect The Hate U Give to a broad range of courses and co-curricular activities.
Negotiating Authority
Connects to: Police violence, the 1969 Brownson Takeover, classroom power dynamics
Thinking Questions: What does socially responsible leadership look like? How can students prepare for ethical challenges they will face? How should we respond when authority figures act unethically?
Related Courses and Programs: Sociology/Anthropology, History, World Religions, Philosophy, Political Science and Law, Library and Information Studies, Education.
Developing Empathy
Connects to: How to have difficult conversations, encountering diversity/cultural translation/code switching, taking global perspectives
Thinking Questions: How can we hear and value people from diverse backgrounds? How do we acknowledge and move beyond the risks of a "single story"? How can we make conversations about divisive issues constructive and educational? How do we deepen understanding by learning about events happening around the world?
Related Courses and Programs: Design Thinking, Center for Inclusion, Mville Atlas, Psychology, Studio Art, Visual Studies & Art History, English (including Literature, Film, and Creative Writing), Global Studies, World Languages (French, Spanish, German, etc.), Women's and Gender Studies
Decoding Media
Connects to: Transcending stereotypes, promoting reading/comparing books and films (ie. “Why read the book if I’ve already seen the movie?”), and developing a critical frame of reference on what we see/read
Thinking Questions: Why does stereotyping exist? How can we use media to broaden understanding rather than limit it? How are our attitudes and perceptions affected differently by film, social media, and books?
Related Courses and Programs: Communication and Media, English (including Literature, Film, and Creative Writing), Music, Sociology/Anthropology
On The Hate U Give:
Opinion Pieces:
On Black Lives Matter and Activism:
On History, Background, and Related Topics:
The following are intended to spur thinking about using The Hate U Give in the classroom.
Please send suggestions to improve this guide to:
Lauren Ziarko
Archivist and Special Collections Librarian
lauren.ziarko@mville.edu
914-323-5422