Did you know that William Shakespeare wrote some of his most famous plays while dodging a plague? Or that Sir Isaac Newton developed some of his most important ideas while in quarantine from a pandemic that struck Cambridge? Or that the Spanish Flu nearly ruined the women's suffrage movement—before it helped it?
Hopefully your break is off to a great start, and you have been able to engage in some of the summer activities you most enjoy. For many of you, however, Covid-19 has created a school vacation like none other, and you are stuck trying to figure out how to spend your days. To help you, our faculty and staff have compiled a list of complementary resources for you to explore. Organized by discipline and curated by our amazing professionals in the library and communications, this website includes books, films, documentaries, articles, projects and podcasts.
This catalog of works is by no means exhaustive; there are lots of important ideas, genres and resources we could have included and probably will someday. However, we offer you some ideas, exercises, and works we think to be interesting, challenging, relevant and enjoyable. This work is optional, but please enjoy and let us know what you think. Happy summer!
—Mr. Denning
As you look to purchase books suggested throughout this guide, many are available through bookshop.org, or from frugalbookstore.net, a Black-owned independent bookstore in Boston.
