The Worcester Art Museum Library is proud to partner with Dr. Ellen Scheible and Dr. Orson Kingsley to offer an immersive reading experience of James Joyce’s 1922 novel, Ulysses. This novel is considered one of the most important works of literature created in the 20th century and has a reputation for being a challenging, yet rewarding, reading experience. Taking place over the course of a single day (June 16, 1904) in Dublin, Ireland, Joyce takes readers on a wonderous literary journey following the characters of Leopold Bloom, Molly Bloom, and Stephen Dedalus.
We will take you on a similar journey as we read and discuss this work together and explore the characters, themes, and experiences of the novel through the lens of the Worcester Art Museum’s incredible collection.
Meetings will take place in person, one Saturday a month from 12:45 to 2:15 pm for two concurrent sessions. We will discuss the month’s readings and visit associated galleries within the Museum. There will be additional activities, including guest lectures, on dates to be announced.
Session 1
- September 14, 2024: Episodes 1–3
- October 19, 2024: Episodes 4–5
- November 16, 2024: Episodes 6–7
- December 14, 2024: Episodes 8–9
- January 25, 2025: Episodes 10–11
Session 2
- February 8, 2025: Episodes 12–13
- March 15, 2025: Episode 14
- April 12, 2025: Episode 15
- May 17, 2025: Episodes 16–17
- June 14, 2025: Episode 18
Cost: $210 per person, per session (with a 10% discount for Members)
* Price includes a copy of the novel
About the experts
Ellen Scheible is Professor of English and Director of the Honors Program at Bridgewater State University. Her monograph, Body Politics in Contemporary Irish Women’s Fiction: The Literary Legacy of Mother Ireland, is forthcoming this year from Bloomsbury Academic. Her other projects include The Dark: A Critical Edition, coedited with Anna Teekell; Teaching James Joyce in the 21st Century and Sally Rooney: Perspectives and Approaches, both coedited with Barry Devine, and a special issue of LIT on Irish women’s genre fiction, coedited with Tina Morin. Her work has appeared in various journals including New Hibernia Review, James Joyce Quarterly, and Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature. She is coeditor, with Claire Culleton, of Rethinking Joyce’s Dubliners (Palgrave 2017) and with Tina Morin of the 2023 Irish University Review special issue, “Irish Gothic Studies Today.”
Orson Kingsley has been the Head of Archives & Special Collections at Bridgewater State University since 2011. He is the current coordinator for the Irish Studies Program at BSU. He has a Ph.D. in Humanities and Technology from Salve Regina University, an M.A. in Public History and an M.S. in Information Science.
Members receive 10% off class tuition!
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