Oppenheimer
On the Same Page gives new students (and everyone else) at Berkeley something in common to talk about: a work that has changed the way we view the world. This year’s work, selected especially for the fall 2024 incoming class, is the film Oppenheimer.
Christopher Nolan’s Academy Award–winning film follows the spectacular rise and fall of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s career, beginning in the fall of 1929 when he arrived at Berkeley as an assistant professor in the physics department at the age of 25. The years he spent at Berkeley were a defining moment for the young professor and future father of the atomic bomb: here, he met close friends and collaborators, established his reputation as a charismatic public intellectual, and began his political awakening.
Our student reviewers were “fascinated by the questions the film raises about the value of technology” and “the role of academia in war.” Oppenheimer will change the way you see and think about UC Berkeley and our campus’s place in history and the world.
Courses
Dive deeper into the themes of this year’s selection through coursework. This year’s courses are offered through American Studies, History, Engineering, Physics, and others across campus.
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About
Since 2006, On the Same Page has sought each year to bring our newest students into conversation with some of the most exciting and profound thinkers in the world.
Past Selections
Since 2006, the On the Same Page program has given our UC Berkeley community something in common to talk about: a book by an author who has changed the way we view the world.
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