The week in books
How Fiction Works by James Wood, professor of the practice of literary criticism, Harvard University. Cape, £12.99, ISBN 9780224079839"Wood's roots are deep in English religious non-conformity. He...
How Fiction Works by James Wood, professor of the practice of literary criticism, Harvard University. Cape, £12.99, ISBN 9780224079839"Wood's roots are deep in English religious non-conformity. He...
Autobiographers have an unsettling tendency to embroider the facts of their lives, says John Sutherland. Jane Eyre comes round on television as often as the World Cup, and with almost as much...
John Sutherland is too cautious: surely we could downsize his proposal for a one-year undergraduate degree to six months ("Why I, THES , December 6). After all, 360 modular credit hours will,...
The UK is unlikely to ever resurrect its past spirit of exporting education for free, laments John Sutherland. One of the few consolations for having served a full, 40-year academic career (four life...
The Cambridge Introduction to Sylvia PlathAuthor: Jo GillEdition: FirstPublisher: Cambridge University PressPages: 168Price: £10.99ISBN: 9780521686952This text offers an inclusive guide to Plath’s...
Ding-dong the RAE's gone, but malevolent mandarins are unleashing an even darker force, says John Sutherland There are university teachers in mid-career whose entire working lives have passed under...
Philanthropic institutions are very much worth preserving, argues John Sutherland Every government in the past 50 years has set out to raise standards in higher education. The degree of success is...
Our occasional column keeps youJabreast of developments in the jobs market, from tip-offs and career pointers to who's on the move in your field. HEAVY LEGAL LOSSES Birmingham University has acquired...
The influence of theory over English studies - the subject of many acrimonious spats - is starting to decline in UK universities, according to leading academics. The ideas of scholars such as Jacques...
The Iron Whim
A furious row has erupted between the "Godzilla" and "King Kong" of Renaissance literature. Stephen Greenblatt, professor of humanities at Harvard University, has hit out at a devastating review of...
Inebriated one-night stands, excruciating childhood crushes, entanglements and rows with peers ... What drives some academics, wonders Matthew Reisz, to turn confessional in print.
V For Vendetta In cinemas nationwide The reviews of V for Vendetta have been pretty much "C is for crap". The movie adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Lloyd's graphic serial/novel looks doomed for the...
The problem with league tables is that they ignore the fact that institutions are of different sizes and have different strengths I was brought up to believe that it is wicked to shoot sitting ducks...
A Fine Brush on Ivory - Searching for Jane Austen - So You Think You Know Jane Austen? A Literary Quizbook