This Book Is Not Required

Revised by a team of college students under the direction of Bernard McGrane, this edition of an underground classic marks out new territory in college participatory education. Its purpose remains the same: to encourage students to educate themselves by calling their attention to the college experience as a whole: the personal, social, intellectual, and spiritual demands and opportunities presented by college life. In a personable and refreshingly straightforward style, Bell and McGrane’s critical discussion of academic life distinguishes between learning the institutional rules of higher education and internalizing those rules, demystifies professors and teaching assistants by discussing their institutional roles and incentives, and invites students to take responsibility for – and make the most of – their educational experiences.