Book Society and the University of Sheffield Library are inviting all students to join their Women’s History Month Reading Group, part of the Reading for Diversity Reading Group programme. This year we’ll be discussing ‘The Yellow Wall-Paper, Herland, and Selected writings’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Since 2021, the Reading for Diversity groups have been a space for students to come together to critically engage with, reflect on, and discuss books from diverse and often underrepresented voices and perspectives. The sessions are informal, friendly, and open to everyone — no pressure and no prior experience needed.
Wonderfully sardonic and slyly humorous, the writings of landmark American feminist and socialist thinker Charlotte Perkins Gilman were penned in response to her frustrations with the gender-based double standard that prevailed in America as the twentieth century began. Perhaps best known for her chilling depiction of a woman’s mental breakdown in her unforgettable 1892 short story ‘The Yellow Wall-Paper’, Gilman also wrote Herland, a wry novel that imagines a peaceful, progressive country from which men have been absent for 2,000 years. Both will be up for discussion at the event as well as a selection of Gilman’s other major short stories. Everyone is welcome — and you don’t need to have finished the book to come along!
Ebook and print copies are available through the Library’s StarPlus discovery tool, and a limited number of physical copies will be available to pick up at Book Society’s meeting on 10th March at 7pm in the Digital Commons room in the Information Commons building.
The Reading Group will take place on Tuesday 24th March at 7pm in the Digital Commons room in the Information Commons building. Students can register for the session here.
The event is part of LibFest, a University Library and Students’ Union partnership, a series of events celebrating the liberation priorities of our students designed to include previously missing voices in our university libraries, promote collaborative working and co-creation, and enhance access to digital creativity.
You can find out about other events run by the Book Society on Instagram @uosbooksoc or by emailing them at booksoc@shef.ac.uk.
