First- Year Reads Program Runs For Second Year

By Stacey Axler

The incoming first-year students are introduced to the Hood community before even coming to campus through the book “Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China” by author and journalist Leslie T. Chang.

First-year students read Chang’s book as a part of the First-Year Reads program, an initiative that runs throughout orientation and the fall semester that introduces new students to the discussion-based learning environment at Hood and allows for the students to bond over the reading material.

“[The First-Year reads committee] wanted something that would unite the first-year students in a common experience, spark deeper reflection, and bring the campus together by engaging in thoughtful conversation about the book,” head of First-Year Reads and Art History Professor Martha Bari said.

In the book “Factory Girls,” Chang follows the lives of two women, Lu Qingmin and Wu Chunming, who leave their rural communities to work in factories in an industrialized city of China called Dongguan.

Chang also spends a section of the book detailing her own family history and her research compiled when visiting China from America.

The book was chosen from a long list of possible books and novels by the First-Year Reads committee, a compilation of professors who run First-Year Reads.

“Factory Girls’ was actually nominated by one of our Hood students and I believe it will provide a wonderful platform to discuss and examine some of the internal dilemmas within China today and how they impact the U.S. and the world,” Provost Katherine Conway-Turner said.

Chang’s book has won several accolades since publication, including “100 Notable Books” by the New York Times in 2008.

The majority of the First-Year Reads program will take place over orientation when orientation groups break into discussion teams to talk about themes and reflections of “Factory Girls.”

Professors introduced the First-Year reads program to the Hood community last year with Khaled Housseini’s book “A Thousand Splendid Suns.”

“As students join the Hood College community, it is important to understand that we are a community of learners. So a common read allows students to make this transition,” Conway-Turner said.

During October 23 and 24, “Factory Girls” author Chang will visit campus to discuss with the Hood community the writing process for “Factory Girls” and her visit to China as a whole.

“When Leslie Chang gives her talk on Factory Girls at Hood on October 24th, this newsworthy event is open not only to members and alumni of Hood College, but also to the greater Frederick community. That we can attract high-caliber authors to our region is a feather in Hood’s cap and also another reason why Frederick is considered such a great place to live,” Bari said.