An English professor takes a critical look at why today’s students are assigned the same books that were assigned decades ago – and why American school curricula are so difficult to change.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Literature
Displaying 41 - 60 of 688 articles
What can Tolkien’s lesser-known stories tell us about the world he created?
Effects of violence and forced migration on survivors’ mental health have not been acknowledged, despite the trauma being passed down generations.
Dragons have been used for political manoeuvring throughout the history of Britain.
He is certainly important to English but he isn’t responsible for as much of it as you might think.
Writers seem to be especially vulnerable in polarized times, when the nuances of works are more likely to be overlooked.
Rushdie’s books have inspired generations of readers and writers – and a recent attempt to kill him.
When Stephanie Trigg was a young reader, The Gentle Falcon, set in 1396, introduced her to the beauty and danger of the medieval world.
A city of contrasts, these books represent the heart and the violence of this Italian city.
The field of ‘monster studies’ looks at how texts reflect ideas about what’s evil, weird or scary.
He had a scandalous reputation in his lifetime but in death became angelic.
Music is featured in most of Jane Austen’s novels and recent research is teaching us more about her personal love of music. What can it tell us about the world of Jane Austen?
Sensationalism is ingrained in any conversation about abortion because the issue has long stood in for the country’s deepest fears.
In an interview, scholar Alyssa Collins explains how her time spent plumbing the sci fi writer’s papers left her stunned by the breadth of her interests and the depth of her scientific knowledge.
Even though Afrofuturist works are set in fictional worlds, they provide a blueprint for social, political and economic systems free from exploitation and oppression.
What happens when a writer asks us to consider the perspective of the perpetrator rather than the victim?
The tragedy of Macbeth issues a warning for our times about the harm that is done when the desire for power drowns out the inner voice of conscience.
Old women remain the butt of jokes; they are some of society’s most marginalised people. But age also invites us to become our most authentic selves, writes Carol Lefevre.
It is one of Dickens’ best loved novels and an exposé of the class system, but the book’s depiction of women has proved divisive.
This brainy feminist romp of a novel, loved by Rachel Cusk and Maria Semple, is often compared to Brideshead Revisited. But Carol Lefevre says it’s more like a sexy, sweary version of Nancy Mitford in 1960s London.
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer in Literary Studies, Monash University
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Associate Professor in Media, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Dean, Graduate Research, University of Canberra
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Lecturer, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney
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Professor, Chair of Australian Literature, The University of Western Australia
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Senior Lecturer, Literature and Gender Studies, Victoria University
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Honorary Associate Professor in Creative Writing and Literature, Macquarie University
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Honorary Fellow of the School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne
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Emeritus Professor of Australian Literature, University of Sydney
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Professor of English, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, ACU, Australian Catholic University
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Lecturer in Contemporary Literature, La Trobe University
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Professor, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne
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Lecturer in Digital Arts & Humanities, University College Cork
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Visiting Professor, University of Technology Sydney
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Lecturer, University of Tasmania, University of Tasmania
