We developed the ‘Reading Emotions’ community book group to engage members of the public with the latest research in the history of emotions, and to highlight how emotions are historically specific. The group’s first theme was love and relationships in Britain between c. 1750 and 1950, inspired by our joint research interests in the history of love and the #ReadWomen campaign founded by the author Joanna Walsh in 2014. We aimed to encourage members to read more regularly, engage them with neglected works by female authors, and discuss their responses in a supportive environment.
Creating the Group
Our motivations for establishing and running the group were published in blog posts on Queen Mary’s Centre for the History of Emotions and Centre for Public Engagement blogs.
We recruited members of the group from a variety of sources including; the QMUL History of Emotions mailing list, our Twitter accounts, the University of the Third Age (U3A); posters displayed at the Bromley by Bow Centre and via the Tower Hamlets Shuffle Festival. We were initially concerned that it may be difficult to recruit enough people (we were aiming for up to fifteen) and were delighted when we heard from over twenty people. We invited fourteen to join the group and created a waiting list of six others. The waiting list was made up predominantly of academics who had requested to join. We had decided in advance that since academics were not our target audience, we would prioritise individuals outside of universities.
We deliberately tried to recruit members of varying ages and backgrounds, in order to bring different perspectives to our discussions. The initial fourteen members came from a wide variety of backgrounds and occupations including for example, two retired members; legal administration; medical administration; law; a graphic designer; an interior designer and a nurse. Many of the members lived locally or slightly further afield in south London.
Four of our initial members left the group; one found the location too difficult to get to, another developed health problems making attendance difficult and the other two did not provide reasons. However, with a second wave of advertising we were fortunate to recruit a further six members. These included a stained glass artist; two GPs and a lecturer in business who was a friend of an existing member.
Individuals joining the group reported that they were keen to explore the voices of female writers during periods of greater inequality, and consider the roles women carved out for themselves in society. Others said they welcomed the discipline of a book club deadline to encourage them to read more regularly. Members were keen to discover something new, and to hear fresh perspectives on favourite texts. The overarching motivation was to turn reading into a social activity, meet new people and explore a variety of literature.