Mercè Rodoreda and her work 'La plaça del diamant' have been chosen to kick off the activities of Unite!'s Reading Club, an initiative driven by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-Barcelona Tech (UPC) and funded by the alliance through its seed fund for student projects. Martina Massana, a student at UPC, together with Carme Fenoll, Director of the Culture and Community Area, and two students from Grenoble and Aalto, are the minds behind the proposal.
Students from the nine universities forming part of the alliance can now enrol in the Club. The first meeting will be held online in the second week of February. Organizers anticipate that each university's libraries will provide Club members with the books proposed for debates, in original or English versions.
Join the U! Reading Club
The organizing team will select texts from various cultures and academic disciplines to expose participants to diverse literary and academic traditions. Their intention is to blend classic literature proposals from each country with works from young and emerging authors. Each month, a book from one of the countries will be suggested, and in different sessions, Club members can share their ideas and thoughts after reading the proposed work. The organizers plan to invite the author to the session whenever possible, promoting direct debate and knowledge of the authors among students. The goal of the driving team is to encourage critical thinking, facilitate the exchange of ideas, debates, recommendations, and experiences in an international and non-academic environment. This marks the first experience of an international interuniversity reading club.
Martina Massana-Massip (UPC), Sacha Zimny (Grenoble, France), and Luísa Cardoso (Aalto, Finland) are the three students behind the U!Reading Club project. They declare they are "convinced that through it, we can learn more about other experiences and cultures." With the launch of this Club, they aim to encourage students to "expand their understanding and knowledge of different cultures and perspectives while improving our ability to analyse and interpret complex texts". They believe literature is a great connection point for students across Europe, offering an incredible opportunity to find common ground, share other languages, and enhance critical thinking skills, adds Martina.