“Dreaming in French” to be read this summer

Each year Smith College selects a book to be read by all entering students. This year, the college has chosen Dreaming in French: The Paris Years of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis by Alice Kaplan.

Dreaming in French tells the story of how a year in Paris changed the lives of three extraordinary American women, including Jacqueline Kennedy (then, Jacqueline Bouvier) who studied at Smith’s Paris JYA program in 1949.

Students will read the book before arriving on campus in the fall and will discuss the book during Orientation in groups led by faculty and staff.

Past summer reading selections include The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2011), Half the Sky (2010), Persepolis (2007), Atonement (2003), My Year of Meats (2000), and Respect (1999).