A 2021 Field Work Term Reading List
While students embark on Field Work Term, an annual work-learning term during which students gain hands-on experience and test their classroom ideas in the world of work, Bennington faculty, staff, and students offer their reading recommendations to keep everyone’s intellectual juices flowing wherever they are.
Epidemics and Society
By Frank M. Snowden
Recommended by Annabel Davis-Goff, Director of the Prison Education and the Incarceration in America Initiatives—CAPA, and Faculty—Literature
These Heroic, Happy Dead
Recommended by Annabel Davis-Goff, Director of the Prison Education and the Incarceration in America Initiatives—CAPA, and Faculty—Literature
Just Us
By Claudia Rankine
"Rankine has written another essential book of this time."
Recommended by Michael Dumanis, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought and Camille Guthrie, Director of Undergraduate Writing Initiatives
Song of Achilles
"A mythological retelling of the story of Achilles, through the eyes of his best friend and lover Patroclus. Perfect for grown-up fans of Percy Jackson and Greek mythology, or anyone who loves a good romance. Warning: this book WILL have you crying by the time it's over."
Recommended by Lizzie Gavrilov '23
Her Last Flight
"This mystery/historical fiction/adventure book jumps between the story of a sassy photo-journalist, and the object of her investigation, a trailblazing female aviator from the past. Both of the main characters in this story are witty, passionate, extremely complex and well-written, and SO powerful. If you liked Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein you will LOVE this story!"
Recommended by Lizzie Gavrilov '23
The Glass Castle
"This book is the story of a family, magical and fantastic, and heartbreakingly realistic all rolled into one. The (very unstable) parents create beautiful dreams and imaginary worlds for the children, but in reality, can't keep the family out of poverty. The four children grow up scrounging for food, inventing games to distract and entertain each other, and sticking together throughout the many difficult situations they find themselves in."
Recommended by Lizzie Gavrilov '23
Bloodchild and Other Stories
"I've been reading all of Butler's books this year. They're all stunning (in every sense), and this collection is a great introduction. We read the title story in my The Scriptorium: Love course."
Recommended by Camille Guthrie, Director of Undergraduate Writing Initiatives
Stray Harbor
"Rage Hezekiah's poems are gutting, bold, tender, and loving. (And, she's a wonderful person in the Bennington community)."
Recommended by Camille Guthrie, Director of Undergraduate Writing Initiatives
How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton
By Lucille Clifton, Edited by Aracelis Girmay
"The marvelous poet Aracelis Girmay has edited an gorgeous collection of Clifton's poems."
Recommended by Camille Guthrie, Director of Undergraduate Writing Initiatives
The Book of Delights
By Ross Gay
"I swooned over this lovely collection of gratitudes. This book is a joy and a gift."
Recommended by Rage Hezekiah, First-Year and International Student Counselor—Academic Services
Such a Fun Age
"I so appreciated the arc of this story, and the complexity of the central characters. I'm looking forward to following Reid's work for years to come."
Recommended by Rage Hezekiah, First-Year and International Student Counselor—Academic Services
The Most Fun We Ever Had
"After reading this book I discovered that 'domestic fiction' is my ideal genre. Lombardo has a keen eye towards complex family dynamics, and I found her writing familiar and comforting."
Recommended by Rage Hezekiah, First-Year and International Student Counselor—Academic Services
The Carrying
"Limón's tender observations and sharp turns keep me coming back to this book months after reading it. Her lines are beautifully rendered and often devastating, I'm so grateful for her generosity in bringing this power to the page."
Recommended by Rage Hezekiah, First-Year and International Student Counselor—Academic Services
The Cutting Season
"Excellent mystery escapism written by this stunning novelist- beautiful and informative prose that reflects an African American perspective on living in the south."
Recommended by Dina Janis, Faculty—Drama
Blanche on the Lam
"The first in a fabulous detective mystery series by this wonderful African American novelist—introducing the protagonist Blanche White, a middle-aged mother, domestic worker and amateur detective."
Recommended by Dina Janis, Faculty—Drama
Hamnet
"Lots of fun for us Shakespeare nuts! A fun take on the 'true' story of Hamlet—set in Shakespeare's time."
Recommended by Dina Janis, Faculty—Drama
Borne
"A blow-you-over imaginative fiction that is both primordial myth and futuristic fantasy."
Recommended by Blake Jones, Faculty—Science and Mathematics
The Corner That Held Them
"Some nuns and the black plague and then the excitement of keeping a nunnery going in hard times."
Recommended by Sherry Kramer, Faculty—Drama
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments
"If you haven't read Hartman (MacArthur genius '19), this is a phenomenal book with which to start. And if you've read this most recent of her works, Scenes of Subjection and Lose Your Mother are no less critical and revelatory—Hartman is perhaps the most important voice for understanding the afterlives of slavery in the US right now through a black feminist lens. She invites us to think both expansively and unstintingly about (histories of) race and gender in America and does so through wondrously poetic, emancipatory frameworks and methodologies centering—rather than adding on—Black women."
Recommended by Vanessa Lyon, Faculty—Visual Arts
The Idiot
"Reading a novel about being in college during Field Work Term seems like a bad way to enjoy a break from campus- but I find that reading about a character who is living in a non-socially-distanced world has really been brightening my spirits. And aside from that, The Idiot is hilarious, sharply written, and impossible to put down."
Recommended by Julian Mitchell '24
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
"This book only came out last year, but has again become relevant as Google goes on trial for trust violations and monopolization of the internet. It’s a long book but incredibly interesting, and provides an accessible look at the link between technology and large corporations."
Recommended by Julian Mitchell '24
Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric
"Rankine is perhaps more well known for books like Citizen, but Don’t Let Me Be Lonely perfectly and beautifully encapsulates the divisive, chaotic, and isolating times we live in."
Recommended by Julian Mitchell '24
Ideas Arrangements Effects: Systems Design and Social Justice
By Design Studio for Social Intervention
"Brilliant and timely, it identifies the pressure points of power in everyday life, and emphasizes experimentation and play in ways that are wise and inspiring."
Recommended by Brian Michael Murphy, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
Don't Sleep: The Urgent Messages of Oliver Munday
"My favorite book cover designer and one of the most poetic illustrators I've ever seen."
Recommended by Brian Michael Murphy, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
"Tackles the digital, gender, the limits of 'connection' through technology, and so much more."
Recommended by Brian Michael Murphy, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
The Big Sea
"A classic autobiography, so full of adventure, honesty, and unforgettable vignettes."
Recommended by Brian Michael Murphy, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
Station Eleven
"Written in 2014, this is a novel about an unprecedented global pandemic that spreads at a mind-boggling speed. No one is prepared, and there are no solutions. Sound familiar? It's a novel about humans doing human things."
Recommended by Carol Pal, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
The Nickel Boys
"This is a novel about the real-life Dozier School for Boys, a 'reform' school where kids were beaten, abused, murdered, and dumped into unmarked graves. Whitehead's spare prose makes it all the more harrowing. It feels like necessary reading."
Recommended by Carol Pal, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ
By José Saramago; Translated by Giovanni Pontiero
"Saramago's beautiful and realistic novel is an exploration of the 'lost' years in the life of Jesus, beginning with his conception. It is lyrical, skeptical, provocative and impossible to put down. I already want to read it again."
Recommended by Carol Pal, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Zora Neale Hurston
Recommended by Mirka Prazak, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
She Would Be King
By Wayétu Moore
Recommended by Mirka Prazak, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
By Ocean Vuong
"Gorgeous book and bridge across generations of a shattered family that survives wartime Vietnam to flee to Hartford, CT, and beyond. It reads like cool water flowing through your hands...the miracle of survival and recovery."
Recommended by Jean Randich, Faculty—Drama
Becoming a Man
"When I read this memoir, I wrote the author whom I know: 'From the definition of mental illness being a case where the known tackles and represses the unknown, to your ability to open yourself up to necessary truths, no matter the cost, to your brave acknowledgement of a puzzlement of truths, your witnessing opened my eyes and gives me hope and strength.....I will not give up altitude. I will not give up evolution. I will not give up the dream of freedom, liberty, tolerance, love, and justice for all. Thank you, magical man.' If you are interested in the power of transformation and becoming, read P. Carl's raw, funny, intimate memoir. It will change your life."
Recommended by Jean Randich, Faculty—Drama
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent
"Wilkerson prefaces her book with an epigraph from James Baldwin: 'Because even if I should speak, no one would believe me. And they would not believe me precisely because they would know that what I said was true.' This beautifully written and scrupulously researched book, dealing with the caste system in slave-holding America, India, Nazi Germany, and contemporary American society, uncovers so many things you would not believe but are all too true. Essential reading for everyone who wants to achieve a more perfect union, with liberty, opportunity, equality, equity, and justice for all."
Recommended by Jean Randich, Faculty—Drama, Sue Rees, Faculty—Visual Arts, and Laura Walker—President
Salt Houses
"This novel is about the resistance, triumph and betrayal of memory, while telling the story of one Palestinian family. Each chapter centers around one family member, while moving across time and place. Not one but many wars shape the journeys of members of this family, causing intergenerational trauma, forgetting and remembering."
Recommended by Özge Savaş, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
Lie with Me
By Philippe Besson; Translated by Molly Ringwald
Recommended by Stephen Shapiro, Faculty—Cultural Studies and Languages
Fire and Memory
By Guillén Fernández and Luis Fernández-Galiano; Translated by Gina Cariño
Recommended by Donald Sherefkin, Faculty—Visual Arts
Brainstorm
"From the class reading list from Magic of Adolescence, learn about the adolescent brain in this book for teens and their families."
Recommended by Emily Waterman, Faculty—Society, Culture, and Thought
A Burning: A Novel
"Three characters, similar only in their dreams of a different life, connected through a disaster. I found it hard to put down once I started reading it."
Recommended by Oceana Wilson, Acting Dean of the College and Dean of the Library
Mexican Gothic
"A page-turning thriller with nefarious botanicals = very good distraction from 2020."
Recommended by Oceana Wilson, Acting Dean of the College and Dean of the Library
The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design
By Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt
"Delightful details of urban design in short essays."
Recommended by Oceana Wilson, Acting Dean of the College and Dean of the Library
The Death of Vivek Oji: A Novel
"A beautifully written tale about family, biological and chosen, and the secrets held and revealed."
Recommended by Oceana Wilson, Acting Dean of the College and Dean of the Library