literature

What my students taught me about reading: old books hold new insights for the digital generation

Every year about 150 students enrol in the introductory English literature course at the Australian National University, which I teach. The course includes works by Shakespeare, Austen, Woolf and Dickens. I know what these books did for me as a student 20 years ago, but times have changed. I am curious to discover what reading [...]

By |2020-03-24T17:36:19+11:00March 23rd, 2020|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Hopefully, Literally, Begs The Question: The Three Most Annoying Misuses In English

Atrocities in English are committed every day. Here are three of the worst. You may be surprised, but hopefully you won’t literally explode with anger. When we talk of words, even if we don’t know it, we tend to divide ourselves into two schools of thought - the descriptivists and the prescriptivists. Prescriptivists tend to [...]

Reading a novel triggers lasting changes in the brain

Lovers of literature can rejoice: a new study combines the humanities and neuroscience to take a look at what effects reading a novel can have on the brain. Researchers say exploring a book can not only change your perspective, but also it can change your mind - at least for a few days. via Reading [...]

Go to Top