Reading “Woman”: Book Club Pedagogies and the Literary Imagination

Reading and literary engagement as a negotiated social practice within a reading club can act as a form of pedagogy, able to shape and define new ways of meaning making individually and socially within the public sphere of education. By looking at how particular women have constructed their private literary experiences, I suggest that there is much to be gleaned from these examples that points to reading as a negotiated relational practice, able to provide a reimagining of the social world. A brief historical overview creates a rich context in which to think about reading club pedagogies as an opportunity to negotiate difference and build community within our classrooms.