From 4 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 in the Bernath Auditorium inside of the Undergraduate Library, the Wayne State University Libraries and professors from Wayne State's history, communication and English departments will present a free screening and discussion of the 1989 BBC production of "The Yellow Wall Paper," a film based on the 1892 short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

In the late nineteenth century, at a time when women were challenging traditional ideas about gender that excluded them from political and intellectual life, medical and scientific experts drew on notions of female weakness to justify inequality between the sexes. Artist and writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who was discouraged from pursuing a career to preserve her health, rejected these ideas in a terrifying short story titled, "The Yellow Wall-Paper." The famous tale served as an indictment of the medical profession and the social conventions restricting women's professional and creative opportunities.

Coordinated by Professor Richard Raspa, department of English, the program will begin with an introduction, followed by a discussion about the film and author's place in science, women's studies, film and writing. The panel will include Raspa as well as professors Marsha Richmond, department of history, and Joel Silvers, department of communication.

This discussion will serve to familiarize the campus community with the story before the Nov. 18 opening of National Library of Medicine's "The Literature of Prescription," a six-panel traveling exhibition that will be on display at the Shiffman Medical Library through Dec. 28. The exhibit examines the role of gender in the perception and medical treatment of mental illness using Gilman's work and other materials. For more information on the exhibit, visit the exhibition website at www.nlm.nih.gov/theliteratureofprescription/.

The Wayne State University Library System consists of the university's six libraries: The David Adamany Undergraduate Library, the Purdy/Kresge Library, the Shiffman Medical Library, the Arthur Neef Law Library, the Science and Engineering Library, and the Reuther Library and the School of Library and Information Science.   

Wayne State University is a premier institution offering more than 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 29,000 students.