Reading Communities

This the official Facebook page for the Arts and Humanities Research Council project, ‘Reading Communities: Connecting the Past and the Present’, based at the Open University.

Are you interested in the reading habits and preferences of British people in times past? Are you a member of a reading group, or take an active interest in reading as an informed social activity? Have you ever wondered whether other readers from the past and the present, have responded to your favourite book in the same way as you? Are you interested in how people read during the Second World War, or whether migrant families brought their most valued books with them to this country? Would you be willing to share your own memories of reading in an informal setting? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, the ‘Reading Communities’ research team would like to hear from you.

About us: Based in the English Department, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), this public impact and engagement project will help to answer these questions (and others besides) by investigating readers in the past and demonstrating their relevance to us today. The 12 month project runs from December 2015 to November 2016.
People: ‘Reading Communities’ is run by Dr Shafquat Towheed, Dr Edmund King, and Dr Maya Parmar, all based in The Open University’s English Department.

Events: We will be running a series of events through 2016 in the following cities and venues:
Liverpool, 10-11 March. Venues: Liverpool City Central Library, Liverpool John Moores University, and the University of Liverpool.
Belfast, 12 April. Venues: The Open University Belfast Regional Centre and Linen Hall Library.
Edinburgh, 7 June. Venues: Edinburgh City Art Centre, The Writers’ Museum, City of Edinburgh.
Birmingham, 16 August. Venue: Impact Hub Birmingham
London, 15-16 September. Venue: Senate House, University of London.

Event activities will include hands-on workshop sessions, round table discussions with members of reading groups, public lectures by acknowledged experts in the history of reading, oral history interviews, and literary readings. You are also welcome to bring with you your favourite book, tells us what reading means for you, and share in the day’s activities. All events are open to the public and are free to attend.

Get involved: You can find out more about the project and get involved by visiting the project website at www.open.ac.uk/readingcommunities, or by following us on Twitter (@ReadCommunities), or Instagram (www.instagram.com/readingcommunities).

Register for events by e-mailing us at readingcommunities@gmail.com.