The Freshman Reading Program steering committee has announced that the Class of 2013 will be reading Julie Otsuka’s “When the Emperor Was Divine,” a novel set in a Japanese-American internment camp in World War II.
Over the summer, incoming freshmen will receive copies of the book, along with a reader’s guide, and are expected to have completed the book before arriving on campus.
During orientation, freshmen will participate in faculty-led discussions, but the focus of the book won’t end there. Programs are being planned throughout the next academic year that will be based on race and racial profiling — the key themes of the book.
Otsuka’s debut novel, “When the Emperor Was Divine,” tells the story of a Japanese-American family forced to live in an internment camp. In five chapters, Otsuka presents the points of view of each family member living through one of the darker periods in American history: the internment of more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans for three-and-a-half years.
“‘When the Emperor Was Divine’ is a spare and elegantly written novel by Julie Otsuka, a young Japanese-American woman,” said Karen Coburn, senior consultant in residence and a member of the reading program’s steering committee. “It grapples with timeless questions of identity and being ‘the other’ as well as current debates about racial profiling and the rights of citizens in a democracy in times of fear and war.
“We will be working with campus partners, including the Center for Ethics and Human Values, to plan programs and symposia throughout the year addressing issues Otsuka raises in her book,” Coburn said.
The Freshman Reading Program began in 2003 and aims to provide a common intellectual experience for incoming students, introduce them to a spirit of debate and inquiry and provide an opportunity for increased student-faculty interaction both in and out of the classroom.
Last year’s book was Elizabeth Kolbert’s “Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change.”