Common Read
2026-2027 University Common Read
We are pleased to invite Sonoma State University faculty to participate in the Common Read of Migrant Heart (2026) by acclaimed, best-selling author Reyna Grande. This Common Read will take place in Spring 2027 and is part of a series of events for the 2026-27 academic year, connected to the redesign of the SSU Library mural honoring farm workers.
With support from the Provost's Office, this initiative was launched after the stories of sexual and misogynistic abuse suffered by Dolores Huerta, Ana Murgia, Debra Rojas, Amanda Chávez, and other women, children, and youth involved in the United Farm Workers Movement were made public last March. The series focuses on honoring migrant women's contributions and voices in labor organizing and U.S. culture. It includes a panel discussion with Sonoma County Women Organizers on Wednesday, October 21st, 2026 and Reyna Grande’s visit and talk at the SSU campus on Wednesday, April 21st, 2027.
We encourage faculty interested in social justice, migration, gender and racial equity from any field to participate in the Common Read by including Grande’s book, Migrant Heart, as a required reading in their Spring 2027 classes.
How to Participate
All faculty interested in participating should reach out to Dr. Silvia Soto at sotosi@sonoma.edu or Dr. Natalia Villanueva-Nieves at villanuevn@sonoma.edu by September 30th, 2026.
A special thank you to this year's Common Read Organizers: Dr. Theresa Burruel Stone, Dr. Silvia Soto, and Dr. Natalia Villanueva-Nieves!
Participating faculty will be invited to the Migrant Heart Common Read Curriculum Workshop during the Fall 2026 semester. This workshop will provide curriculum support materials such as discussion questions, reading guides, and assignment samples based on the book to incorporate into their Spring classes. The support materials will be developed from the curriculum pilot conducted by Dr. Natalia Villanueva-Nieves in collaboration with Dr. Anthony Rizzuto and the Adobe for All initiative, with support from Dean Laura Alamillo. Students from classes that adopt the book as part of their curriculum will be invited to display their final projects in a special exhibition at the SSU Library in Spring 2027.
All SSU students are welcome to participate in the Migrant Heart Common Read whether it is a part of a course or on their own. The University Library has copies available to borrow, and the SSU Bookstore will have copies available for purchase beginning mid-September. For more information, contact the appropriate campus department below:
Additional student-focused events will be shared as they are finalized.
Staff interested in participating in the Migrant Heart Common Read are encouraged to pick up a copy of the book and join the conversation. Teams can create their own reading groups, or staff can sign up to be a part of the Staff Common Read Book Club. This group will meet during Spring 2027 (meeting dates to be determined) to reflect, discuss, and connect with the material in a communal setting.
If you are interested in learning more and potentially participating in a Staff Common Read Book Club, please sign up at the link below!
About
Reyna Grande
Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. As a young girl, she crossed the US–Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in The Distance Between Us, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other books include the novels A Ballad of Love and Glory, Across a Hundred Mountains, and Dancing with Butterflies, the memoirs Migrant Heart, The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition, and A Dream Called Home, and the anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings. She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com for more information.
Migrant Heart
An ambitious memoir in essays by beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande that illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival.
With her signature blend of sophistication and raw honesty, Grande interrogates how living between two nations, two languages, and two identities has shaped the woman, mother, and writer she has become. Whether being racially profiled in the Arizona borderlands or finding unexpected wisdom from the slugs in her garden, Grande unflinchingly asks: How do we bridge the gap between who we were and who we have become? How do we turn pain into power? When memory threatens to define us, how can we use story to heal while still honoring our boundaries?
Migrant Heart is a powerful testament to Grande’s role as a storyteller and cultural witness. It expands our understanding of life in the United States and the complex people who cross and live within its borders. It is an essential read for the seekers, the dreamers, and anyone who believes in the enduring, transformative power of finding one’s voice.
Farmworkers Mural Reimagining
Following allegations of abuse regarding Cesar Chavez that emerged in March 2026, Sonoma State University took action to remove artwork and other symbols honoring him around the campus. This included the removal of a section of the Tiene la Lumbre Adentro / He Has the Fire Within: SSU César E. Chávez Memorial mural displayed in the University Library. In the months since the allegations, the Sonoma State community has partnered with the original artist of the mural, Johanna Poethig, to reimagine aspects of the mural in a way that centers farmworkers’ collective leadership and recognizes them as the heroes of the farmworker movement. Learn more about this process and the project's progress at the link below.
Have an idea for a future Common Read?
Current Sonoma State University Faculty may submit proposals via email to provost@sonoma.edu. In your proposal, please be sure to include:
- The proposed book, essay, or chapter
- A biography of the author
- How the read can be tied into other curriculum and other campus activities