This year's summer read for the Upper School is How Does It Feel to Be A Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America, by Moustafa Bayoumi, an associate professor of English at Brooklyn College, and coeditor of The Edward Said Reader. The title was selected by the Upper School Summer Book Committee of faculty and students, and announced earlier this month. On the last day of school, all students and faculty will be given a copy of the book, which they will be asked to read before the beginning of the school year.
Described as "intimate," "affectionate" and "provactive," Bayoumi's book explores the lives of seven twenty-somethings living in Brooklyn--home to the largest Arab American population in the United States--to reveal their often unseen struggles in our post 9/11 society, from being subjected to government surveillance to the indignities of workplace discrimination.
"The book provides us, as a community, with a unique opportunity to to examine a variety of serious and compelling issues related to the experiences of the book's protagonists," explains Upper School Director Lorenzo Krakowsky. "There will be many opportunities next fall for students and faculty to engage in meaningful and sustained discussions of the book and its many important themes."