The University of Delaware selected Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas’ best-selling memoir, Dear America, as its 2020 First Year Common Reader. Read by UD’s first-year students, the Common Reader selection provides a unique opportunity for students to engage in meaningful conversations with fellow students, and to begin to share in the intellectual life of the entire UD community. Normally, first-year students read the book before arriving on campus, as the Common Reader Program organizes speakers, films and other cultural events around the theme of the book throughout the first semester. With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic changing normal campus operations, the form and format of discussions and events will evolve in the coming months.

Jose Antonio Vargas takes audiences deeper into his story, sharing details of his journey to America from the Philippines as a child; his journey through America as an immigration reform activist; and his journey inward as he reconnects with his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in person in over 20 years. With anecdotes from both his story and the struggles of countless other undocumented immigrants in America, Vargas poignantly explores one of the most divisive questions facing our country today: how do you define “American”?

Besides a Pultizer, Vargas is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and Tony-nominated producer. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the nonprofit media and culture organization Define American. Most recently, he co-produced the acclaimed Broadway play, What the Constitution Means to Me, which was nominated for two Tony awards. 

Previous common readers have included:

Educated, by Tara Westover; Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren; The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead; When the Emperor Was Divine, by Julie Otsuka; Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson; Thank You for Your Service, by David Finkel; My Beloved World, by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor; Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, by Katherine Boo; and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. For more information on the Common Reader, visit the website.