“The Grapes of Wrath,” the historical American novel by John Steinbeck, will be the focus of next year’s One Book, One University project.

The purpose of the project is to get as many students and faculty at Eastern to read and discuss the same book.

The Library Services Council, made up of department heads of the Booth Library, chose this book because it can be related to all departments and majors at Eastern, said Allen Lanham, dean of library services.

The book focuses on a poor, farming family during the Great Depression, who move to California in search of a better life. The family then becomes part of a small, socialist community, which shows its relationship with both history and political science.

Lanham said that there are many other aspects of the book that other parts of the college can focus on.

For instance, science classes can discuss the weather of the book and research how likely it is for a drought as severe to hit the United States again. Sociology classes can focus on “forming communities, the family unit and gender roles,” he said.

Education majors could focus on migrant children in the classroom, or “the Midwestern students who only knew the farm life,” Lanham said.

Recent controversies over immigration can also be tied into the book.

“Just 70 years ago, people were fleeing out of the Midwest to look for work,” he said. “This type of migration still happens in most third world countries.”

The Booth Library will also display a traveling exhibit with the book, much like the “Frankenstein” exhibit of last semester.

The exhibit, “Farm Life: A Century of Change for Farm Families and Their Neighbors,” will focus on the importance of farming and the United States’ dependency on it.

“The ‘Farm Life’ exhibit will be all over (Booth),” said Lanham. “Everyone can come down and discuss things. There are many ways that students can get involved if they want to.”

This will be the third year of the One Book, One University project. The past two books were “Frankenstein” and “Elizabeth.”

The Library Services Council chose “The Grapes of Wrath” over its other two final contenders “Freakonomics” and “The Da Vinci Code,” because they felt this was already proven to be a great historical American novel. The other two books might not be as important as “The Grapes of Wrath” in 10 years, said Lanham.

But some students said they would have preferred if the library had instead promoted the increasingly popular “The Da Vinci Code.”

“I think when movies come out it sparks more interest in the book – like ‘The Notebook,'” said Lauren Jasin, a junior special education major. “I feel if they did something like a modern hot topic it would be more interesting.”

But Lanham disagreed, saying that he felt “once people see the movie, usually they don’t flock to read the book.” He said usually it is the opposite: people want to see the movie once they have read the book.

Of last One Book, One University project of “Frankenstein,” Lindsay Loekle, a junior recreation administration major, said it seemed like it did not represent college students well.

“I felt it was more directed toward a younger audience,” she said. “I think (‘The Grapes of Wrath’) would stand out more here. I think more college students would go.”

But she said she would have preferred “The Da Vinci Code.”