Marywood University to Participate in Scranton Reads “One Book, One City” Initiative

Marywood University to Participate in Scranton Reads “One Book, One City” Initiative

SCRANTON, PA (October 14, 2016)-Marywood University will participate in the Scranton Reads, “One Book, One City,” initiative by hosting community participation of Margaret Atwood’s book, The Handmaid’s Tale. The discussions are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, October 20, 2016, from 7-8:30 p.m., in the Learning Commons, Rooms 331-337, Helen Bittel, Ph.D., associate professor of English, will discuss howThe Handmaid’s Tale responds to and revises the traditions of dystopian literature and satire, lays the groundwork for more recent fiction such as The Hunger Games, engages with 21^st century political concerns, and participates in larger conversations within and about North American women’s literature.

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, from 7-8:30 p.m., in the Learning Commons, Rooms 331-337, Samantha Christiansen, Ph.D., assistant professor in the social sciences department, will present Gender: the State and the Body: A discussion of Bio-Power in The Handmaid’s Tale. This discussion will explore issues of power, on the part of the state and the individual, with The Handmaid’s Tale, as they manifest in the control and manipulation of the physical bodies of the population. Using the novel as the foundation for understanding bio-power and the means of bodily regulation, this talk explores the boundaries of personal sovereignty within the agreement to be governed, asking the question: What are the limits to the embodied social contract?

For additional information about the talks, please contact Ms. Annette M. Fisher, M.S., M.A., associate professor for library services, at fisher@marywood.edu, or call (570)348-6211, Ext. 2365.