Jake Bittle’s The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration was chosen as the Honors College’s 2025-2026 common reading by a committee of Honors College faculty members and students.
Mr. Bittle is a staff writer for Grist ("25 Years on the Climate Beat") and published the book in 2023. The premise: “[W]e imagine that as global warming gets worse over the coming decades, millions of people will scatter around the world fleeing famine and rising seas. What we often don’t realize is that the consequences of climate change are already visible, right here in the United States. In communities across the country, climate disasters are pushing thousands of people away from their homes.” And as we can attest, these changes and consequences are happening right here in NJ and throughout the many other states from which our students hail.
- First-year students engaged with The Great Displacement this past summer through online conversation and during Welcome Week. Their reading of the monograph was accompanied by discussion groups and prompts derived from the book’s thesis and topical issues. Themes from the book were incorporated into all Honors College mission courses this fall and spring.
- Mr. Bittle came to campus on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, during Welcome Week, to interact with our students and share his reactions to the book’s reception and influence. Read more about his visit.
- Returning students found that the work around The Great Displacement was used in many of our Interdisciplinary Honors Seminars throughout the year and served as a focal point for numerous co-curricular and extra-curricular events and programs that are open to all and explored the environmental theme across fields and disciplines. Any returning student on campus was invited to hear Mr. Bittle speak on Wednesday, August 27.
Additional Resources
The Great Displacement: Climate Migration in America | EcoSense for Living
