The Importance of Place
By Jennifer Burek Pierce Place is central to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and to the community of readers who love his work. In both the novel and the movie versions of this story, visually distinctive places anchor…
Using digital technology to uncover ‘invisible’ patterns in language and society
By Adnan Ajšić If you have seen the 1999 movie The Matrix, you will remember the green code tumbling down the black screen like digital rain from the title scene. Later in the movie, Tank, one of the characters, ‘reads’…
Souvenirs of the Victorian Global Bookshelf
by Alexander Bubb It began with a case of mistaken identity. In 2016 I was growing deeply interested in The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a collection of short, pithy, epigrammatic poems translated from Persian by the Victorian man of letters…
Impress Me With Your Books: A Peek Into My Chapter in The Edinburgh History of Reading
by Nicole Gonzalez Lovely balance Andrew Neil. The open neck and rolled up sleeves tell us this is a relaxed, informal Andrew but the books remind us he is never really off the clock. It’s like Magnus Carlsen playing Ludo.…
A Sociologist and a Philosopher Attempt to Learn from COVID
Edward Avery-Natale, interviewed by Colin C. Smith My childhood friend Dr. Edward Avery-Natale is a professor of contemporary sociology, while I am a lecturer in ancient philosophy. Although Ed studies the modern world and I the ancient, we are often…
In Memoriam Sophinette Becker (1950-2019): Appreciation of new thoughts on sexuality, psychoanalysis and politics from the past
By Patrick Henze-Lindhorst Stubborn, a loving mentor and dedicated therapist, and an acutely perceptive authority on countless political and theoretical issues: The psychoanalytically oriented psychologist, sexuality researcher, and psychosomatics specialist Sophinette Becker shaped the renowned Institute for Sexual Science at…
Marvel’s Scarlet Witch: From Page to Screen
by Miriam Kent Wanda Maximoff, known as the Scarlet Witch, is one of Marvel’s most enduring characters. Her history has spanned multiple decades and media formats. Disney+’s WandaVision recently receiving praise for its characterisation, aesthetics and settings. WandaVision inserted Scarlet…
Iranian Literature after the Islamic Revolution in Five Questions
By Laetitia Nanquette Laetitia Nanquette, author of Iranian Literature after the Islamic Revolution: Production and Circulation in Iran and the World discusses the process of writing her book in this new interview. Could you tell us a bit about your…
Q&A with Mark Mclay, author of ‘The Republican Party and the War on Poverty: 1964–1981’
Tell us a bit about your book. My book is on recent American political history. It examines the Republican Party’s challenge to Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ‘War on Poverty’. It shows that leading Republicans – most notably President Ronald…