Under the direction of research assistant Dr. Felicitas Meifert-Menhard, the pilot run took place during the winter semester. During four lunch breaks and one longer video conference, the 15 participants met to discuss short stories and other exciting topics. Due to the Corona situation, the group was only able to see each other in person once. The idea for the book club came from student Fabian Girschick of the student initiative HNU move.
Inspired by a Netflix series
"When I watched the Netflix series "Your Last Hour" last year, the literature class in particular stuck in my mind. I thought it was great that the students were dealing with literary works and wondered why there aren't courses like that at German universities and colleges. Since I am also very interested in literature myself, I got in touch with the professors at HNU and ultimately found a leader for this project in Ms. Meifert-Menhard."
Two short stories and a movie
Felicitas Meifert-Menhard selected the texts to be discussed in consultation with the participants: The short stories "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman as well as the film "Picture a Scientist" made it into the selection. Before the start of each session, participants were expected to have read the text in question. In the meetings, the group reviewed the texts and discussed various interesting aspects on the topic of "gender roles and/or gender identities."
"We had many enriching and exciting conversations and were able to exchange ideas about the texts. I enjoyed discussing literature from the perspective of gender roles and getting to know new students at HNU. I find it especially nice to see that the students at HNU are involved and interested in so many different ways," Felicitas Meifert-Menhard sums up.
Plans for the 2022 summer semester
Due to the very good feedback, the format is again planned for the summer semester with three to five one-hour appointments. Students will be informed about this in good time by HNU move.
Dr. Felicitas Meifert-Menhard is employed as a research assistant for the project management in the Professorinnenprogramm III of the Federal Government and the Länder.
