The Dean's Book Course:
Frequently Asked Questions
"What is the Dean’s Book Course?"
The Dean’s Book Course is unique among university offerings. This 3-credit course actually comprises three separate seven-week seminars---Honors 191D, Honors 291D, and Honors 391D---taken over the time of a student’s enrollment in Commonwealth College. Each seminar is devoted to the study of a single contemporary book and exploration of the issues it raises. The three seminar levels emphasize different approaches and activities, yet the text at the center of each seminar is the same.
"The Dean’s Book Course is a Commonwealth College requirement, which students must take along with all the requirements in their majors. Why?"
Commonwealth College is more than an honors program. It’s an honors college. When you declare an academic major, you become a member of an academic department and its school or college---for example, the Isenberg School of Management, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, or the School of Engineering. And you agree to adhere to that college’s values, as represented by its major requirements. When you join Commonwealth College, you agree to adhere to another set of values, as represented by another set of requirements. The Dean’s Book Course was designed specifically to support this college’s core values and forward its mission.
"What are the values behind the Dean’s Book Course Requirement? What is its purpose?"
Commonwealth College places the highest value not only upon individual achievement but also upon community involvement and intellectual engagement with the world beyond oneself. In fact, the College’s mission is to "offer students an academic community that promotes engagement with society, with leading scholars, and with their peers." The Dean’s Book Course furthers this mission in three ways:
- It gives students the opportunity to experience membership in just such a community of scholars---scholars from widely different majors, all working together on a single text under the guidance of a more experienced scholar.
- Its curriculum provides sustained practice in the full range of expressive and receptive communication skills essential to every such community---from clear, persuasive writing and speaking to accurate, attentive reading and listening.
- Finally at its very center, the Dean’s Book Course promotes an openness of mind defined not only by respect for others’ viewpoints but also by the willingness to take up a text that may not be to one’s taste and work with it as a tool for learning.
In short, the Dean’s Book Course trains Commonwealth College students to become interested in interests outside their own and to find value in activities that contribute, not just to their own private advancement, but to the common wealth.
"Does the Dean’s Book Course represent campus-wide values, too? Does it fulfill any campus-wide requirement?"
Yes. In addition to providing graduation credits, effective Spring 2004 forward the Dean's Book Course has been granted Gen Ed "I" (Interdisciplinary) designation by the Faculty Senate. To receive Gen Ed "I" credit, students must complete all three parts of the Dean's Book Course---Honors 191D, 291D and 391D, and receive a passing letter grade in all three parts. This is distinct from Dean's Book counting toward honors graduation requirements in that to receive honors credit students must receive a grade of "B" or better in all three parts. (For more information, visit the Gen Ed I page .)
"What distinguishes the Dean’s Book Course from other book seminars in other honors programs and colleges across the country?"
While many other honors programs and colleges offer book seminars, the Dean’s Book Course is distinguished by its three-level structure and therefore its size: in any one semester, nearly half the students, faculty, and staff of the College are reading and discussing the same book. Further, since the texts selected are contemporary books by living authors---rather than the "classics" studied in many book seminars---the Dean’s Book Course often features readings by the authors and discussions with them. Finally, the books are selected for each year’s seminar series, not by faculty or administrators, but by a committee of Commonwealth College students themselves.
"How are the books chosen for the Dean’s Book Course?"
The books are chosen by the Dean’s Readers, a group of students working in a three-credit seminar under the Dean’s direction. Each year the Dean’s Readers narrow a list of some forty books to seven before reviewing and presenting their selections to one another and finally choosing two for the year ahead.
"What sorts of books are chosen?"
The Dean’s Readers look for books that are engaging and at the same time offer a rich array of themes for discussion. They may be fiction or non-fiction or personal memoir; they may represent just about any academic discipline---political, scientific, business, literary---but must be accessible and potentially interesting to a general readership. Among books selected in the past are Elegy for Iris by John Bayley, Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman, The Professor and The Madman by Simon Winchester, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, The Natural by Joe Klein, Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez, Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver, and War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges. The books chosen for the 2005-2006 academic year are Remaking Eden by Lee M. Siver, and The Working Poor by David K. Shipler. (If you especially like---or don’t like---the books selected for this year, you might consider joining the Dean’s Readers next fall and taking part in the selection process yourself.)
"Who takes the Dean’s Book Course?"
All Commonwealth College students are required to complete the Dean’s Book sequence, and they must receive a grade of "B" or higher in each section, before they can be cleared for Commonwealth College graduation.
"Who teaches the Dean’s Book Course?"
An important aim of Commonwealth College is to acquaint its students with potential mentors beyond the confines of their individual majors. To this end, the Dean’s Book Course draws its instructors from across the UMass faculty and professional teaching staff, as well as from the larger community of teachers and writers in the surrounding Pioneer Valley.
"May students who are not enrolled in Commonwealth College take the Dean’s Book Course?"
Enrollment in this course is normally limited to members of the college. Under special circumstances and if space permits, non-Commonwealth College students may be admitted with permission from the Dean’s Book Course Director.
"When do I take the Dean’s Book Course?"
The Dean’s Book Course was intentionally designed to be spread over a student’s time here in Commonwealth College. It’s not meant to be rushed through in a single semester or even a single year. Therefore, as a member of Commonwealth College, you will take 191D in your freshman or sophomore year, Honors 291D in your sophomore year or junior year, and Honors 391D in your junior year or senior year. Students who transfer into Commonwealth College as sophomores or juniors may accelerate their pace through the sequence and should speak with a Commonwealth College advisor for more information.
"Can I take the Dean’s Book Course at another school?"
No. The Dean’s Book Course curriculum is unique to Commonwealth College, and so the course can be taken only here at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
"Why are there three separate seminars instead of a single year-long course?"
Because students take the Dean’s Book Course throughout their college careers, during any one semester nearly half of the Commonwealth College population is studying the same book. Thus students from a whole range of classes and majors are brought together into a single community by the shared experience of reading. As students progress through the three levels, their shared experiences accumulate, and they become united by a common culture despite their separate areas of study. If you were to complete a single 3-credit book course in, say, your freshman or your sophomore year, the community of readers would shrink considerably, from nearly half the College’s population to fewer than twenty percent.
What is more, unlike other semester-long courses you’ll take at the University, the Dean’s Book Course is intentionally spread over your time here in order to provide sustained practice in the life-long skills of attentive reading and listening as well as expressive writing and speaking. Each year as you progress through the Dean’s Book sequence, you will return to the seminar table with a new level of knowledge and maturity---and so will your classmates.
"What are the differences among the three levels of seminar?"
Honors 191D, called Discovery, focuses on closely reading the text: gleaning important ideas from chosen passages, using research to deepen one’s understanding, and sharing these discoveries with the class. Honors 291D, called Analysis, focuses on understanding through writing: first, extracting main ideas from a larger piece of writing and briefly summarizing them in your own words; second, researching a particular theme or aspect of the text and presenting your full analytical interpretation of that aspect or theme in essay form. Honors 391D, called Synthesis, focuses on making connections within and beyond the text: writing a personal response to the text, researching areas related to one’s personal response, making a significant presentation to the class on one’s findings, and connecting the themes and discoveries from all of Dean’s Book with one another and with your own major work.
"Where do I go if I have additional questions about the Dean’s Book Course?"
If you need information about when or how to register for the Dean’s Book Course, simply call Commonwealth College at 413.545.2483. The person at the front desk can probably help you, or refer you to an advisor if necessary. If you have questions about the Dean’s Book curriculum or pedagogy, send an e-mail to deansbook@comcol.umass.edu or visit the Dean’s Book Course Director, Marcia Curtis, in 504 Goodell Building.
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