Conversations in the First Year engages members of the incoming class in an intellectual and reflective dialogue through a common text. This year's text is The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Dr. Fei-Fei Li, and the class-wide conversation will kick off on Thursday, September 5, 2024 with First Year Academic Convocation — a beloved University tradition that welcomes all first-year students into BC’s academic community. This shared experience embodies the richness of the Catholic intellectual tradition at Boston College, which calls us to examine our faith and experience in conversation with others in order to pursue the greater glory of God.

 

Past Common Texts

Cultivating habits of thought. That’s what coming to BC is offering you. Some habits can and should be digital, connected, and even multi-tasked. But sometimes we all need the habit of opening a good book, diving in, and leaving the din of our contemporary moment, temporarily, behind.


 

Rough Sleepers Cover

Rough Sleepers

Tracy Kidder

2023

Reclaiming Conversation Cover

Reclaiming Conversation

Sherry Turkle

2021

Born to Run Cover

Born to Run

Bruce Springsteen

2020

The Master Plan cover

The Master Plan

Chris Wilson

2019

Designing Your Life cover

Designing Your Life

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

2018

Chance in the world cover

A Chance in the World

Steve Pemberton

2016

Road to Character cover

The Road to Character

David Brooks

2015

The circle cover

The Circle

Dave Eggers

2014