PhDs: should you publish while you study? Study suggests there may be long-term benefits from publishing, but critics warn of ‘too much, too soon’ By Jack Grove 21 February
World insight: Banging the drum for liberal arts in East Asia Countries like Singapore are turning to broad-based education just as the US turns away from it, says Trisha Craig By Trisha Craig 19 February
Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World, by Tim Whitmarsh Candida Moss on a work tracing the history of thinkers who saw no place for the deities By Candida R. Moss 18 February
Georgian romance, Reverend Collins style As 14 February approaches, Tim Worth looks at a couple of choice Collinses and remembers what Georgian ladies had to put up with By Tim Worth 12 February
A History of the Royal Navy: Empire and Imperialism, by Daniel Owen Spence In addition to its firepower, Britain’s fleet exerted an immense soft power that underscored the imperial project, A.W. Purdue writes By A.W. Purdue 11 February
Thunder and Lightning: Weather Past, Present and Future, by Lauren Redniss Book of the week: Exquisite images trigger the sensations of terror and wonder that nature inspires, says Philip Hoare By Philip Hoare 11 February
12 tips on how to work across a university Alison Baverstock, director of The KU Big Read, offers a dozen tips for anyone trying to engage a whole university community By Alison Baverstock 9 February
THE MENA Summit: Call for liberal arts revival in Arab world Broader-based education addresses concerns over graduate skills, conference hears By Chris Havergal 4 February
Theory at Yale: The Strange Case of Deconstruction in America, by Marc Redfield Rachel Bowlby traces how a school of literary thought and its major figures hit the big time By Rachel Bowlby 4 February
The Gunpowder Age: China’s Military Innovation and the Rise of the West in World History, by Tonio Andrade It’s a myth that Confucianism kept China unprepared for war: the empire had guns and was not afraid to use them, Jonathan Mirsky writes By Jonathan Mirsky 4 February
Baby You’re a Rich Man: Suing The Beatles for Fun and Profit, by Stan Soocher A study of the Fab Four’s legal woes reveals their naivety and reads like a thriller, says Martin James By Martin James 4 February
Be Creative: Making a Living in the New Culture Industries, by Angela McRobbie Andrew Blake on a study facing up to the reality of working in the arts By Andrew Blake 4 February
The Trolley Problem Mysteries, by F. M. Kamm Book of the week: Jane O’Grady on a thought experiment that is an endless platform for exploring ethical principles By Jane O’Grady 4 February
Spain sends and receives most students through Erasmus Proportion of university staff training through Erasmus has more than doubled in six years, finds report By Ellie Bothwell 29 January
Italian Psychology and Jewish Emigration under Fascism: From Florence to Jerusalem and New York, by Patrizia Guarnieri Giulia Miller on a study of anti-Semitism in the academy and the struggle of displaced scholars By Giulia Miller 28 January
Revolutionary Lives: Constance and Casimir Markievicz, by Lauren Arrington A double biography of an Irish suffragette and a Polish count paints a vivid picture, says June Purvis By June Purvis 28 January
The Storm of Creativity, by Kyna Leski Flora Samuel on an architect’s thought-provoking examination of the design process By Flora Samuel 28 January
End of Iran sanctions will not lead to 'sea change' in region for HE Continuing conflicts will limit collaboration between universities in Iran and in neighbouring Gulf nations, says scholar By Ellie Bothwell 28 January
Final Solution: The Fate of the Jews 1933-49, by David Cesarani Book of the week: Two approaches to the Holocaust are blended in a pioneering historian’s last work, Neil Gregor writes By Neil Gregor 27 January
Why offer a liberal arts education in Iraq? Despite the challenges, Jill Derby sees multiple benefits to exporting this US model to the middle east By Jill Derby 24 January
The Love of Strangers: What Six Muslim Students Learned in Jane Austen’s London, by Nile Green Persian migrants’ tales illuminate the attitudes and culture of Regency era, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 21 January
Political Turbulence: How Social Media Shape Collective Action, by Helen Margetts, Peter John, Scott Hale and Taha Yasseri Organising and agitating online can be a powerful mover of change, Ivor Gaber finds By Ivor Gaber 21 January
Exposed: Desire and Disobedience in the Digital Age, by Bernard E. Harcourt We are sleepwalking towards virtual transparency after an oversharing binge, discovers Paul Bernal By Paul Bernal 14 January
Liberty and Coercion: The Paradox of American Government from the Founding to the Present, by Gary Gerstle Elizabeth Cobbs on an enlightening and alarming study of how the central state has had to fight for its legitimacy By Elizabeth Cobbs 14 January
The Invention of God, by Thomas Römer Scholarship, not ideology, drives this welcome effort to determine what is historical and what is not in the depiction of God, says Robert A. Segal By Robert A. Segal 14 January
World insight: developing an internationally relevant curriculum Heated debate and hours of staff time are worth it if students get the courses they need, says Charles Bailyn By Charles Bailyn 13 January
Interview with Dominique Steiler We talk to the Princeton research scholar about being a fighter pilot, mindfulness and the existence of little green men By John Elmes 7 January
Religious Difference in a Secular Age: A Minority Report, by Saba Mahmood Egypt is route to exploring how modern politics privileges beliefs of majorities, finds Bård Kårtveit By Bård Kårtveit 7 January
Alexander Yakovlev: The Man Whose Ideas Saved Russia from Communism, by Richard Pipes Vladimir Tismaneanu on a study of one man’s journey from ‘Homo Sovieticus’ to ‘Homo Antisovieticus’ By Vladimir Tismaneanu 7 January
Paris at War: 1939-1944, by David Drake Victoria Harris on a study of the occupied city that makes powerful use of diary entries By Victoria Harris 7 January
The Legendary Detective: The Private Eye in Fact and Fiction, by John Walton The real-life versions of Philip Marlowe were more likely criminals than heroes, says Sharon Wheeler By Sharon Wheeler 17 December
Wilhelmina Geddes: Life and Work, by Nicola Gordon Bowe Book of the week: Jasmine Allen admires the monumental scale and meticulous detail of a stained glass artist’s work By Jasmine Allen 17 December
Diana and Beyond: White Femininity, National Identity and Contemporary Media Culture, by Raka Shome Was it beauty, race or rebelliousness that created a global icon? Joanna Lewis surveys the evidence By Joanna Lewis 10 December
The First Book of Fashion: The Books of Clothes of Matthäus and Veit Konrad Schwarz of Augsburg, edited by Ulinka Rublack and Maria Hayward David Rosenthal on a Renaissance man who recorded in detail his obsession with the functional aesthetics his clothing and dress By David Rosenthal 10 December
Hope without Optimism, by Terry Eagleton Priyamvada Gopal ponders the emancipatory potential of the ‘poor relation’ of faith and charity By Priyamvada Gopal 10 December
UK Engagement Survey: universities have limited impact on students’ ‘soft’ skill development Responses of more than 24,000 undergraduates indicate limited development in areas such as creativity and citizenship over course of degree By Chris Havergal 10 December
Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly, by Judith Butler Book of the week: A shared sense of precarity is at the heart of recent disparate mass protests, says Mary Evans By Mary Evans 10 December
White, Western and male? Prepare to be told off for writing a poem I had assumed stories about campus political correctness might be overblown. But the experience of my friend is an example of how deeply it permeates universities By David Matthews 3 December
Open Library of Humanities aims to ‘flip’ journals to open access New publishing model aims to make research accessible to all without charging authors By David Matthews 3 December
Stealing Helen: The Myth of the Abducted Wife in Comparative Perspective, by Lowell Edmunds A search for shared motifs in folklore and Classics is impressively broad-ranging, says Barbara Graziosi By Barbara Graziosi 3 December
Obfuscation: A User’s Guide for Privacy and Protest, by Finn Brunton and Helen Nissenbaum Marianne Franklin on a guide to help people escape the attentions of public and private bodies capturing and capitalising on our online actions By Marianne Franklin 3 December
Scientists ‘less engaged with public than arts and humanities academics’ Survey also finds that women do more work with the general public than male researchers By David Matthews 3 December
The Profligate Son Or, a True Story of Family Conflict, Fashionable Vice, and Financial Ruin in Regency England, by Nicola Phillips How does a dandy pay for his lifestyle? Clare Brant follows a rake’s descent into crime, dissolution and disrepute By Clare Brant 3 December
The Other Paris: An Illustrated Journey through a City’s Poor and Bohemian Past, by Luc Sante Book of the week: Beneath a bourgeois veneer is a secret history of defunct jobs and fascinating lives, says Paul White By Paul White 3 December
Student enrolments in Canada reach 2 million Increase led by growth in number of international students By Ellie Bothwell 1 December
University of Warwick bangs the drum for liberal arts Preparing to launch its multidisciplinary degree, institution bids others across Europe to follow suit By Chris Havergal 26 November
Academics and creative firms join together to showcase work AHRC-funded festival flags up an astonishing variety of collaborative projects By Matthew Reisz 26 November
Hanan al-Cinema: Affections for the Moving Image, by Laura U. Marks Lindsey Moore on a study of film and video from the Arabic-speaking world By Lindsey Moore 26 November
Why did the chicken cross the road? For public engagement, of course Researchers have employed a comedian to help them reach out to a wider public By Matthew Reisz 19 November
Lady Byron and Her Daughters, by Julia Markus Duncan Wu on a study of marriage and motherhood By Duncan Wu 19 November
Richard J. Evans on the case for historical apologies A Guilted Age: Apologies for the Past, by Ashraf H. A. Rushdy By Richard J. Evans 19 November
The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains, by Thomas W. Laqueur Book of the week: Brace yourself for unusual keepsakes in a study of our attachment to corpses, says Deborah Lutz By Deborah Lutz 19 November
Chinese professor loses management role ‘after rival reported dissenting blog posts’ Liang Xinsheng removed from deputy chair post after writing ‘radical opinions’ that had a ‘bad social influence’ By David Matthews 17 November
Everything to Nothing: The Poetry of the Great War, Revolution and the Transformation of Europe, by Geert Buelens Deborah Longworth salutes the range and reach in Everything to Nothing By Deborah Longworth 12 November
Hospitality and Islam: Welcoming in God’s Name, by Mona Siddiqui This study of Muslim relationships between hosts, guests and religion is timely, says Tehseen Thaver By Tehseen Thaver 12 November
Gothic for the Steam Age: An Illustrated Biography of George Gilbert Scott, by Gavin Stamp James Stevens Curl on an architect who designed some of the great Victorian buildings but was unjustly maligned By James Stevens Curl 12 November
The End of the Cold War: 1985-1991, by Robert Service Vladimir Tismaneanu praises a study of the key players in East-West relations in the late 1980s By Vladimir Tismaneanu 12 November
The Book of Human Emotions: An Encyclopaedia of Feeling from Anger to Wanderlust, by Tiffany Watt Smith Interpretation of what we are feeling should never be reduced to mere physiology, says Jane O’Grady By Jane O’Grady 12 November
Metrics-based mini REF ‘won’t be credible’ Green Paper recommends use of metrics, despite July report’s reservations By David Matthews 10 November
Another Green World: Linn Botanic Gardens – Encounters with a Scottish Arcadia, by Alison Turnbull with Philip Hoare The history of a sanctuary where science meets art is an emotionally charged work, says Timothy Mowl By Timothy Mowl 5 November
