Faculty News, Field Work Term

A 2019 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 offer their reading recommendations to keep everyone’s intellectual juices flowing wherever they are.

Lavinia

Lavinia

By Ursula K. Le Guin

"In this first-person narrative, Aeneas's last wife finally speaks to tell us who she is... Lavinia thinks of herself as a woman and as a character. Very interesting writing experiment."
Recommended by Barbara Alfano

Exit, Voice, and Loyalty

Exit, Voice, and Loyalty

By Albert O. Hischman

Recommended by Andrew Cencini

Fear

Fear

By Bob Woodward

Recommended by Judith Enck

My Beloved World

My Beloved World

By Sonia Sotomayor

Recommended by Judith Enck

Plastic

Plastic

By Susan Freinkel

Recommended by Judith Enck

Disaster Drawn

Disaster

By Hillary L. Chute

Recommended by Sarah Harris

On Beauty

On Beauty

By Zadie Smith

Recommended by Sarah Harris

Runaway

Runaway

By Alice Munro

"Three of these stories ('Chance,' 'Soon,' and 'Silence') were adapted into Pedro Almodóvar's gorgeous most recent film Julieta. This is an Almodóvar that you may not recognize, and I recommend both."
Recommended by Sarah Harris

My Brilliant Friend

My Brilliant Friend

By Elena Ferrante, Translated by Ann Goldstein

"I hope we read (and re-read) Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan quartet before watching the new HBO series adaptation!" 
Recommended by Sarah Harris

The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season

By N.K. Jemisin

"It's the first volume in a trilogy that is nominally science fiction.  In reality, it is a super tough investigation into the concept of race, and it's done through the lens of geology.  Yes, geology! Just fantastic."
Recommended by Carol Pal

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow

By Amor Towles

Recommended by Kate Purdie

Washington Black

Washington Black

By Esi Edugyan

Recommended by Kate Purdie

Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club

Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club

By Benjamin Alire Sáenz 

Recommended by Natalie Scenters-Zapico

Lo Terciario / The Tertiary

The Tertiary

By Raquel Salas Rivera 

Recommended by Natalie Scenters-Zapico

A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness

Xicana

By Cherríe L. Moraga; Contribution by Celia Herrera Rodriguez 

Recommended by Natalie Scenters-Zapico

¡Venceremos?: The Erotics of Black Self-making in Cuba

Cuba

By Jafari S. Allen

Recommended by Natalie Scenters-Zapico

The Blue Flower

The Blue Flower

By Penelope Fitzgerald

Recommended by Anne Thompson

The Land Between Two Rivers

The Land Between Two Rivers

By Tom Sleigh

"Essays on the global refugee crisis."
Recommended by Michael Wimberly

Class Notes

Class Notes

By Adolph Reed Jr.

Recommended by Josh Blackwell

Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

By Robert Venturi

Recommended by Josh Blackwell

Democracy's Body

Democracy's Body

By Sally Banes

Recommended by Josh Blackwell

Fashion Climbing

Fashion Climbing

By Bill Cunningham

Recommended by Josh Blackwell

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin

By Terrance Hayes

Recommended by Michael Dumanis

Baby, I Don't Care

Baby, I Don't Care

By Chelsey Minnis

Recommended by Michael Dumanis

Human Hours

Human Hours

By Catherine Barnett

Recommended by Michael Dumanis

Wild Milk

Wild Milk

By Sabrina Orah Mark

Recommended by Michael Dumanis

You Darling Thing

You Darling Thing

By Monica Ferrell

Recommended by Michael Dumanis

Priestdaddy

Priestdaddy

By Patricia Lockwood

"The book that knocked my socks off this year was Patricia Lockwood's Priestdaddy: A Memoir. It's the kind of hilarious (and painful) book that holds you hostage until you finish it and makes you annoy everyone around you because you have to read aloud from the section in which she describes the sounds her priest father makes on his electric guitar."
Recommended by Camille Guthrie

Homemade Esthetics

Homemade Esthetics

By Clement Greenberg

Recommended by Jon Isherwood

Bloodchild and Other Stories

Bloodchild and Other Stories

By Octavia Butler

"An exceptional collection of short stories and an introduction to Butler's writings." 
Recommended by Senem Pirler

Whitewalling: Art, Race, and Protest in 3 Acts

Whitewalling: Art, Race, and Protest in 3 Acts

By Aruna D'Souza

Recommended by Robert Ransick

More

More

By Hakan Günday, Translated by Zeynep Beler

"Hakan Günday is regarded as the enfant terrible of Turkish literature. A very disturbing picture of the refugee crisis in Turkey."
Recommended by Burcu Seyben

Stuff Matters

Stuff Matters

By Mark Miodownik

"As is mentioned in the author's history/introduction, I too can trace back through my life and recognize clear moments that began my obsession with materials. There are so many properties inherent in this material world that make so many connections with one another often “we" or “I" don’t understand how to translate into a speaking language. A treat for those interested in stuff and origins of such things."
Recommended by John Umphlett

Pachinko

Pachinko

By Min Jin Lee

Recommended by Ikuko Yoshida and Debbie Warnock

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

By David W. Blight

Recommended by David Bond

So You've Been Publicly Shamed

So You've Been Publicly Shamed

By Jon Ronson

Recommended by Karen Gover

The Lottery and Other Stories

The Lottery and Other Stories

By Shirley Jackson

Recommended by Karen Gover

The Invention of the White Race

The Invention of the White Race

By Theodore W. Allen

Recommended by John Hultgren

Rising Out of Hatred

Rising Out of Hatred

By Eli Saslow

Recommended by John Hultgren

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

By Imogen Hermes Gowar

"Absolutely fabulous!  Reminiscent of the best Victorian novels--but with the freshest and brightest of voices--completely surprising in its greatness."
Recommended by Dina Janis

Pure

Pure

By Linda Kay Klein

Recommended by Debbie Warnock

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

By Katherine Boo

Recommended by Mirka Prazak

Behold the Dreamers

Behold the Dreamers

By Imbolo Mbue

Recommended by Mirka Prazak

The Heart's Invisible Furies

The Heart's Invisible Furies

By John Boyne

"It starts with a scene in a small church in rural Ireland and spans decades."
Recommended by Charles Schoonmaker

The Aeneid

The Aeneid

By Virgil, Translated by Allen Mandelbaum

Recommended by Stephen Shapiro

The End of Eddy

The End of Eddy

By Édouard Louis, Translated by Michael Lucey

Recommended by Stephen Shapiro

Baldwin

Baldwin

By James Baldwin

Recommended by Allen Shawn

Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Recommended by Allen Shawn

The Devil Finds Work

The Devil Finds Work

By James Baldwin

Recommended by Allen Shawn

We Were Eight Years in Power

We Were Eight Years in Power

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Recommended by Allen Shawn

Buddenbrooks

Buddenbrooks

By Thomas Mann, Translated by John E. Woods

Recommended by Mark Wunderlich

Lulu in Hollywood

Lulu in Hollywood

By Louise Brooks

Recommended by Maya Cantu

Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison

Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison

By Bruce Western

Recommended by Annabel Davis-Goff

Challenging the Mississippi Fire Bombers

Challenging the Mississippi Fire Bombers

By Jim Dann

Recommended by Janet Foley

Look

Look

By Solmaz Sharif

"A book of poems written with and against terms from the Department of Defense's official dictionary."
Recommended by Mariam Ghani

Weighing In: Obesity, Food Justice, and the Limits of Capitalism

Weighing In: Obesity, Food Justice, and the Limits of Capitalism

By Julie Guthman 

Recommended by Ben Hall

On Tyranny

On Tyranny

By Timothy Snyder

"A small pocket book that we should all carry and read continuously for the next two years."
Recommended by Kirk Jackson

W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits

W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits

By W.E.B. Du Bois Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Staff, Edited by Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert

Recommended by Mary Lum

War of Streets and Houses

War of Streets and Houses

By Sophie Yanow, Edited by Tom Kaczynski

Recommended by Mary Lum

What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

By Lesley Nneka Arimah 

Recommended by Mary Lum

The Gene

The Gene

By Siddhartha Mukherjee 

Recommended by Sue Rees

In Extremis

In Extremis

By Lindsey Hilsum

Recommended by Sue Rees

Picturing Time

Picturing Time

By Marta Braun

Recommended by Sue Rees

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

By Yuval Noah Harari 

Recommended by Eileen Scully

Against the Grain

Against the Grain

By James C. Scott

Recommended by Donald Sherefkin

Open Mic Night in Moscow

Open Mic Night in Moscow

By Audrey Murray 

Recommended by Debbie Warnock

An Untamed State

An Untamed State

By Roxane Gay

Recommended by Debbie Warnock