A summer reading assignment is a college tradition, one that unites incoming students in an intellectual and "Uggggh, can you believe they gave us homework over the summer?" kind of way.The Ivy League institutions are no exceptions. We dug up what texts they assigned to the Class of 2018 by visiting their orientation websites and speaking with university officials.
Harvard University and Yale University are not included on this list, as they give their kids the summer off.
-BROWN UNIVERSITY: "Oil & Water" directed by Francine Strickwerda-
For the first time in the program's eight-year history, Brown selected a movie instead of a book to unite first-year students in a "common intellectual experience."
"Oil & Water," according to the university's website, is "a coming-of-age story of two boys, from two different backgrounds, confronting one of the world’s worst toxic disasters."
Find a screening near you »-COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: "The Iliad" by Homer-
A summer reading of "The Iliad" is a Columbia tradition. It's read and discussed in students' first weeks on campus each year, according to the Center for Student Advising.
Richmond Lattimore's latest translation of Homer's epic war poem is said to "bring the book into the twenty-first century."
Buy the book »-CORNELL UNIVERSITY: "Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio" by Amara Lakhous-
Amara Lakhous' colorful, bittersweet comedy follows the culturally mixed residents of a Rome, Italy apartment building, as the community deals with the mysterious death of a neighbor.
Buy the book »
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