The Utopia Reading Group is a weekly reading group for anyone interested in utopian literature and political thought. We read one novel over the course of each term, discussing a few chapters every week. This Trinity Term we’ll read William Morris’s News from Nowhere (1890). The Utopia Reading Group meets Friday afternoons at 4 pm in Brasenose College. You can find the reading list here.
If you’re interested in utopia (or simply looking for a reason to read more fiction), join the Oxford Utopia Reading Group. We read one novel over the course of each term, discussing a few chapters every week. So far, we’ve read More’s Utopia, Bogdanov’s Redstar, Abdelhadi’s and O’Brien’s Everything for Everyone, and Bellamy’s Looking Backward. This Trinity we’ll read William Morris’s News from Nowhere (1890). We’ll meet Friday afternoons at 4 pm in Brasenose College to discuss a few chapters of News from Nowhere. Weekly discussions will be supplemented with short readings by Morris, his contemporaries, and present-day political theorists on topics drawn from the novel. These topics include child liberation, prison abolition, work, revolution, art, and love. Each session will conclude with a reading of one of Morris’s Chants for Socialists. There will also be opportunities to visit local sites decorated by Morris & Co. and to view some of Morris’s illuminated manuscripts held in the Bodleian Library archives. Anyone is welcome and no prior knowledge is expected or required.
