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literary criticism

# Episode Title Description People Date
1 Sylvia Townsend Warner Carolyne Larrington introduces the writing of Sylvia Townsend Warner. Carolyne Larrington 26 May 2020
2 Ursula K. Le Guin A brief introduction to the writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Caroline Batten 13 May 2020
3 T. H. White A brief introduction to the writer T. H. White. Gabriel Schenk 12 May 2020
4 Diana Wynne Jones A brief introduction to the writer Diana Wynne Jones. Gabriel Schenk 12 May 2020
5 Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century A guest lecture by Dr Maria Cecire (Bard College) discussing children's fantasy literature. Maria Cecire 12 May 2020
6 Interview: Catherine Butler An Interview with Dr Catherine Butler, author of the book 'Four British Fantasists'. Catherine Butler, Will Brockbank 12 May 2020
7 Approaching Fantasy Literature A short introduction to reading and studying fantasy literature. Stuart Lee 12 May 2020
8 Translation as Afterlife In this seminar, Marcela Sulak (Bar Ilan University) and Adriana X. Jacobs (Oriental Studies) will explore the possibility of translation as “afterlife” through a discussion of the Hebrew poets Orit Gidali and Hezy Leskly. Marcela Sulak, Adriana X Jacobs 24 Feb 2017
9 “Forgotten Europe”: Translating Marginalised Languages Looking specifically at Modern Greek, Polish, Dutch, and Swedish, this event interrogates what it means to translate and publish marginalised and minor European languages into English. Peter Mackridge, Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Paul Vincent, Sarah Death 10 Feb 2017
10 Critical Writing Dr Eleni Philippou, Leah Broad, Theophilus Kwek and James Watt in conversation. Eleni Philippou, Leah Broad, Theophilus Kwek, James Watt 07 Nov 2016
11 Comparative Criticism: What Is It and Why Do We Do It? Matthew Reynolds and Mohamed-Salah Omri discuss comparative literary criticism. Chaired by Valeria Taddei. Matthew Reynolds, Mohamed-Salah Omri, Valeria Taddei 19 Oct 2016
12 Creative Commons ‘“Political Theology” or “Occasional Decisionism”? On the Formal Character of Carl Schmitt’s Political Theology’ Bruno Godefroy (Universities of Erlangen and Lyon) gives a talk in Session 2: Political (Dis-) Orders, part of the Political Demonologies conference held at Worcester College on 20th May 2016. Bruno Godefroy 13 Sep 2016
13 The life of Oscar Wilde Oxford students discuss the life of Oscar Wilde. Aled Walker, Davis Rivera, Yannick Lambert, Conor Malloy 26 May 2016
14 Thinking with Literature A Book at Lunchtime discussion with Terence Cave about literature's links to cognitive science. Terence Cave, Marina Warner, Ilona Roth, Deirdre Wilson 28 Apr 2016
15 Conference Introduction Stefano Evangelista introduces the Cosmopolis & Beyond conference. Stefano Evangelista 22 Apr 2016
16 “Guide to a Disturbed Planet”: Modernist travel and the Cosmopolitics of Hospitality in Rebecca West Annabel Williams explores the notion of hospitality in British modernist travel literature through the work of Rebecca West. Annabel Williams 06 Apr 2016
17 Cosmopolitan Bodies and choral Anxieties in early twentieth-century Performances of Greek Drama Fiona Macintosh examines the anxieties in pre-WW1 Britain surrounding social and theatrical, and especially Greek-inspired, dance, which becomes increasingly associated with moral decadence and dangerous 'cosmopolitanism'. Fiona Macintosh 06 Apr 2016
18 Queer Cosmopolitanism in the Expatriate Literature of Berlin Ben Robbins considers queer cosmopolitanism in the work of Anglophone writers who lived in Berlin during the era of the Weimar Republic. Ben Robbins 06 Apr 2016
19 21st-Century Literary Cosmopolitanism: Jean-Philippe Toussaint’s Global Village Arcana Albright examines the cosmopolitan dimension of contemporary Belgian author Jean-Philippe Toussaint’s oeuvre, in particular his literary website. Arcana Albright 06 Apr 2016
20 The location of world literature: spaces of self-reflection Galin Tihanov seeks to locate the Anglo-Saxon discourse of ‘world literature’ vis-à-vis three major reference points: time, space, and language, and to examine the potential of literature to construct its own images of 'world literature'. Galin Tihanov 06 Apr 2016
21 The International Culture of the Belle Époque: Media, Avant-Garde and Mass Culture in Europe (1880-1920) Julien Schuh examines the circulation of styles and ideas through periodicals in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. Julien Schuh 06 Apr 2016
22 An Ottoman Cosmopolitan in the Turkish Republic of Letters: Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar Nagihan Haliloğlu posits Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar as a pioneer of literary cosmopolitanism in Turkey, considering his lectures on literature, given in 1950’s at the Turkish Literature department, Istanbul University. Nagihan Haliloglu 06 Apr 2016
23 Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism and Internationalism. Reflections from an example : France between the two world wars Guillaume Bridet assesses how Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism and Internationalism interact and differ in the French literary context during the interwar period. Guillaume Bridet 06 Apr 2016
24 Indifférence engagée: Elites, modernism and cosmopolitanism Francesca Billiani discusses cosmopolitism as practiced by the Italian cultural elites under the Fascist regime. Francesca Billiani 06 Apr 2016
25 Le Haiasdan, Arménie, Armenia: Language Choice and the Construction of an Armenian Diasporic Identity (1888-1905) Stéphanie Prévost discusses what publishing an Armenian periodical in Paris & London, in another language than Armenian meant for the construction of an Armenian identity at the time of the national awakening (Zartonk). Stéphanie Prévost 06 Apr 2016
26 The Italian press in Egypt: Writing and Reading the Alexandrian Cosmopolitanism Alessandra Marchi examines the italian political press in Alexandria (Egypt), mainly at the beginning of the XX century. Alessandra Marchi 06 Apr 2016
27 Literary Encounters fostered by Nineteenth-Century Francophone Press published in the United Kingdom Valentina Gosetti gives the first presentation in the seventh panel; Cosmopolitan Literary Exchange in the Transnational Press. Valentina Gosetti 06 Apr 2016
28 Une Femme m’apparut: Lesbian Desire and “French” Identity Sarah Parker focuses on the love affair between the Decadent poets Olive Custance and Renée Vivien and the American writer Natalie Barney, arguing that affecting ‘Frenchness’ and writing in French allowed them to articulate their desire for one another. Sarah Parker 06 Apr 2016
29 The “Unspeakable” T. W. H. Crosland Rebecca N. Mitchell discusses the anti-cosmopolitanism of litigious editor and literary gadfly T. W. H. Crosland. Rebecca Mitchell 06 Apr 2016
30 The Relation of Fellow-Feeling to Sex: Laurence Housman and Queer Cosmopolitanism Kristin Mahoney’s paper on Laurence Housman asserts that Housman implemented a Decadent vision of queer desire in his activist work in support of the pacifist and Indian independence movements in the 1930s and 40s. Kristin Mahoney 06 Apr 2016
31 The transnational Literary Field: Between (Inter)Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism (Keynote address) Gisèle Sapiro traces the emergence of a transnational literary field in the twentieth century by analysing the book market for translations. Gisèle Sapiro 05 Apr 2016
32 Make It… Foreign? The Cosmopolitan Aesthetics of Jaakooff Prelooker’s The Anglo-Russian Martina Ciceri explores the cosmopolitan aesthetics of Jaakoff Prelooker’s magazine 'The Anglo-Russian' in Late-Victorian England. Martina Ciceri 05 Apr 2016
33 Cosmopolitan Conglomeration and Orientalist Appropriation in Oscar Wilde’s The Sphinx Katharina Herold examines the interplay of cosmopolitanism and orientalism in Wilde's poem 'The Sphinx'. Katharina Herold 05 Apr 2016
34 'Intellectual cosmopolitanism affirms itself in the land': Hermes and the Basque-English Network of the 1920s Leire Barrera-Medrano explores the Basque-English Modernist network surrounding the journal 'Hermes' which represents a prominent example of the connection between cosmopolitan localism, nationalist politics and modernist aesthetics. Leire Barrera-Medrano 05 Apr 2016
35 Defamiliarizing India: Cosmopolitanism as a condition of aesthetic and political Survival Laetitia Zecchini discusses the cosmopolitanism of several post-independence Indian poets and artists. Laetitia Zecchini 05 Apr 2016
36 Brussels fin de siècle between Paris and London Clément Dessy examines the Anglophilia of literary and artistic symbolist groups in Brussels. Clement Dessy 05 Apr 2016
37 Plays for Today? Closing symposium in which critic Michael Billington, playwright Rachel De-lahay, theatremaker Chris Goode academic and Dr Liz Tomlin discuss with David Edgar the place of the playwright in contemporary theatre. This event was filmed on 7th February 2015. David Edgar, Michael Billington, Rachel De-lahay, Liz Tomlin 05 Feb 2015
38 Peter D. McDonald in conversation with Arvind Krishna Mehrotra Peter D. McDonald talks to Arvind Krishna Mehrotra about his work as a poet, critic and translator, focusing on the idea of triangulation and his interest in the intersections between languages and literary traditions. Peter McDonald, Arvind Mehrotra 23 Apr 2013
39 Shakespeare's Fools Professor of English, Katherine Duncan-Jones, discusses the real life characters and contemporaries of Shakespeare that inspired, shaped, and on occasion performed the various roles of the 'fool' in much of his work. Katherine Duncan-Jones 11 Dec 2012
40 Creative Commons The life and death of King Richard the Second. ePub version of text The life and death of King Richard the Second. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 01 Nov 2011
41 Creative Commons Richard II Lecture eight in the Approaching Shakespeare series asks the question that structures Richard II: does the play suggest Henry Bolingbroke's overthrow of the king was justified? Emma Smith 01 Nov 2011
42 Creative Commons Brought to Book: Book History and the Idea of Literature Professor Paul Eggert, University of New South Wales, gives the 17th Annual D.F. McKenzie lecture on the subject of books and gives a case study of Henry Lawson, Australian author of Where the Billy Boils. Paul Eggert 09 Mar 2011