The One Book program engages our college community in a dialogue about a common text that addresses a current issue. Students, faculty and staff share the experience of reading a text and examining its effects upon our community. Faculty who incorporate the text into their curriculum receive copies for their students. Programming is provided throughout the year to continue the discussions that begin in the classrooms of various disciplines. The culminating event happens each spring semester when the college invites the author of the chosen text to visit, interact and speak with our student body. The One Book program promotes literacy in an innovative way and creates interest within a subject that students may be encouraged to pursue and advocate for in the future. The program invites analysis, promotes critical thinking, and encourages positive change.
2024-2025 One Book Selection
Bunker Hill Community College’s 2024-2025 One Book selection is Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir Persepolis: Story of a Childhood.
Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born French graphic novelist, cartoonist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author, best known for her autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis. Born in Rasht, Iran in the late 1960s, and raised in Tehran, Satrapi experienced the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War during her formative years, which influenced her work. She moved to Vienna as a teenager to escape the political repression in Iran, later returning before ultimately settling in France.
Satrapi's work explores themes of identity, culture, and resistance, drawing from her own life experiences. Persepolis was critically acclaimed for its portrayal of life in Iran and its innovative use of the graphic novel medium to convey complex social and political issues. Beyond Persepolis, Satrapi has directed films, including the animated adaptation of Persepolis and the live-action film The Voices. Satrapi has also written Les monstres n'aiment pas la lune (Monsters Are Afraid of the Moon) (2001); Ajdar (2002); Broderies (Embroideries) (2003); Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums) (2004); Le Soupir (The Sigh) (2011); and Women, Life, Freedom (editor) (2024).
Synopsis
Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis: Story of a Childhood is a memoir presented as a graphic novel that chronicles the author's childhood and early adulthood during and after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Through black-and-white illustrations, Satrapi narrates her personal experiences growing up in a politically turbulent environment, depicting her family's struggles, her rebellion against the oppressive regime, and her journey of self-discovery. The novel is significant not only as a memoir but also as a powerful work of visual storytelling that combines personal and cultural narratives to explore themes of identity, freedom, the right to education, and resilience.