The Pre-read for the Class of 2029 will be “On the Fringe: Where Science Meets Pseudoscience” by Dean of the College Michael D. Gordin, the University announced on Tuesday. Gordin is a professor in the history department and an expert on the history of science.
The Princeton Pre-read was inaugurated by University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 in 2013. Its purpose is to “introduce incoming undergraduate students to Princeton’s intellectual life.” Incoming students will receive a copy of the book over the summer.
Previous books include “Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech” by Keith Whittington in 2018, “This America: The Case for the National” by Jill Lepore in 2020, and most recently, “The Worlds I See” by Fei-Fei Li ’99 last year.
The books chosen for the Pre-read frequently tie into recent events or themes of significance to Eisgruber. In a statement accompanying the announcement, Eisgruber described “On the Fringe” as a book that “invites conversation about the purposes of the liberal arts curriculum that awaits students at Princeton.” He added that understanding how and why distinctions between scholarly and non-scholarly work are made “will help students to benefit fully from their time studying here.”
“On the Fringe” explores the historical and philosophical boundaries that define what counts as science — and who gets to decide. It was developed from Gordin’s History of Pseudoscience, last taught in 2017. Drawing on case studies ranging from alchemy and astrology to scientific racism, the book encourages readers to think critically about how knowledge is validated, rejected, or reshaped over time.
In an interview with The Daily Princetonian, Gordin shared that students who took his class expected to learn about flashy pseudoscientific theories, only to walk away with a more nuanced understanding of how science itself operates.
“By the end of the course, they said that they’d learned a lot more about how science works, which is what I had hoped they would get out of the class,” Gordin said.
According to Gordin, Eisgruber began soliciting book recommendations from senior faculty and administrators in the fall. “He asked whether anybody in the leadership of the University had any recommendations,” Gordin said. “I suggested a couple of books that he might be interested in.” A few months later, Eisgruber responded — not with one of the recommended titles but with interest in assigning “On the Fringe.”
“He said, ‘I liked this book, but I have a few questions about it,’” Gordin recalled. “And then he said, ‘You know what — I’d like to assign your book.’ I was a bit taken aback. I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And he said, ‘Yes, and here’s why.’”
Gordin said Eisgruber pointed to the book’s engagement with themes related to academic freedom, freedom of inquiry, and the role of science in society — questions he hoped would spark meaningful conversation among first-year students. “The fact that it’s not too long and therefore easily digestible before the semester begins doesn’t hurt either,” Gordin added. The book runs 136 pages.
Gordin emphasized that the book should be seen not as an answer but as an opening to conversation. “I don’t think I have the last take on what the fringe is, or how one should or could separate science from pseudoscience,” he said. “I’m making a proposition, and I want [students] to push back on it.”
As Dean of the College, Gordin oversees Princeton’s undergraduate curriculum and residential college system. His previous works include “Scientific Babel,” “Einstein in Bohemia,” and “Five Days in August: How World War II Became a Nuclear War.”
Incoming students will receive copies of the book this summer and will discuss it at the Pre-read Assembly during Orientation. Gordin encouraged students to reach out even months or years later with reactions, especially if they disagreed.
“That’s the only way a conversation can go forward,” he said.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and education director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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