Literary History & Criticism

In Wives, Witches, and Whirlpools: The Powerful Women of Homer’s Odyssey, Professor Jessica Blum-Sorensen helps you explore this classic work with fresh eyes, focusing not on the eponymous hero, but on the many women whose voices and motivations invite us to rethink traditional ideas of heroism. Across seven lectures, you’ll reexamine some of the foundational themes of the literary canon from a new perspective and discover why the deities, wives, maidens, witches, and monsters who populate Homer’s Odyssey are more than a match for its hero.

Como as práticas culturais e políticas de autoria negras podem reescrever a história do Brasil? Se não reescrevê-la, talvez ressignificar momentos importantes de seu desenvolvimento, ou realçar aspectos que sofreram um apagamento? O que as produções de escritores, artistas e intelectuais negros revelam sobre a experiência subjetiva e as reivindicações por uma sociedade mais justa? Este curso explora a contribuição fundamental da autoria negra no Brasil, abordando como essas produções culturais questionam mitos históricos e combatem o racismo estrutural.

For almost three thousand years, the Odyssey has captured imaginations with seafaring adventure, romance, friendships, as well as feats of heroism and of bloody revenge. The tale of Odysseus’s long and eventful journey home remains one of the greatest epics ever told, inspiring new...

'A rollicking, brilliant book' GARETH RUSSELL 'Hugely enjoyable' SUNDAY TIMES A rollicking narrative history set during the extraordinary summer of 1726 when Jonathan Swift arrived in London from Dublin, with a draft of Gulliver’s Travels in his bag. Jonathan Swift settled into his great...

El célebre naturalista francés Buffon señaló en su día que «el discurso de la naturaleza no es más que la naturaleza transformada en discurso». María Negroni se propone rastrear las representaciones de la naturaleza—o sumergirse en la naturaleza escrita—en las que la unión de lo visible con lo enunciable produce un conjunto dotado de sentido.

In Bodies That Matter, renowned theorist and philosopher Judith Butler argues that theories of gender need to return to the most material dimension of sex and sexuality: the body. Butler offers a brilliant reworking of the body, examining how the power of heterosexual hegemony forms the "matter"...

Martin Amis blends vivid memories, sharp wit, and tender honesty to deliver an unforgettable memoir that explores his relationships with family, personal tragedies, and the absurdities of being known. "...[Narrator Alex] Jennings's portrayals of Lionel and his circle are tremendous fun." —...

Embark on a cultural odyssey to explore the impact of Homer’s iconic poem, from its creation in the eighth century to Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film adaptation in 2026. Since it was first circulated in Ancient Greece, The Odyssey has influenced literature, film, art, and much...

Part memoir, part diplomatic and political treatise, and part love letter to a society he grew up in as a bicultural and bilingual American, Dr. Walker provides the tools needed to fully understand and appreciate what Japan represents to the United States and to the world today.

This third edition of the bestselling textbook has been fully revised, continuing to provide a concise introduction to the key concepts of semiotics in accessible and jargon-free language. Demystifying what is a complex, highly interdisciplinary field, key questions covered include: What are...

What if Shakespeare understood you better than you understand yourself? In Shakespeare’s Heartbeat, actor Sofia Barclay examines 40 of Shakespeare’s most powerful sonnets as emotional guideposts for modern life. Blending personal insight with timeless poetry, she transforms these works into everyday tools for navigating love, heartbreak, desire and uncertainty.

Discover one of the most powerful philosophical works ever written, now in a clear and truly listenable modern English edition. On the Shortness of Life by Seneca is more than an ancient essay. It is a direct and timeless reflection on how we waste our lives, and how we can reclaim them. Written nearly 2,000 years ago, Seneca confronts a question that still defines modern life: Why does life feel so short? His answer is simple and unsettling: Life is not short. We make it short. What makes this edition different?

A long-overdue reappraisal of the groundbreaking nineteenth-century writer who reshaped the literary and social norms of her age. By the age of thirty, the young woman who was born Aurore Dupin in 1804 in a Paris garret had become the internationally renowned George Sand. In English, her novels...

Borges fue nombrado profesor titular de la cátedra de Literatura Inglesa y Norteamericana de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad de Buenos Aires en 1956 a partir de una postulación tan escueta como contundente: "Sin saberlo, me he venido preparando para este cargo a lo largo de toda mi vida".

The Shelby Paradox: Power, Trauma, and the Mind at War is a psychological study of Tommy Shelby, one of television's most compelling and enigmatic figures. Rather than treating him simply as a gangster, this book examines him as a man shaped by war, silence, masculinity, grief, and the relentless need for control.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, then included in the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. The short story, a work of Gothic fiction, includes themes of madness, family, isolation, and metaphysical identities. The story begins with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country, complaining of an illness and asking for his help.

Bloomsbury presents Football by Mark Yakich, read by Josh Wichard. Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. When is the “beautiful game” at its most beautiful? How does football function as a lens through which so many view their daily lives?...

In Climbing Parnassus, winner of the 2005 Paideia Prize, Tracy Lee Simmons presents a defense and vindication of the formative power of Greek and Latin. He also shows how these languages have played a crucial role in the development of authentic Humanism, the foundation of the West's cultural...

Bloomsbury presents Spider-man: Miles Morales by Ytasha L. Womack, read by Xenia Willacey. Explore the Stories Behind the Legends First introduced in 2011 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli, Miles Morales reconceived Spider-Man as African American and Latinx, and his debut marked a new...

At the outset of Marx for Cats, Leigh Claire La Berge declares that "all history is the history of cat struggle." Revising the medieval bestiary form to meet Marxist critique, La Berge follows feline footprints through Western economic history to reveal an animality at the heart of Marxism. She...

‘One of the most eloquent thinkers about our life in language’ – The Sunday Times Read by the author, Denise Riley A Chorus of Ears is a series of essays on voice, lyric and the persona of the poet from one of the greatest living English poets. Originally delivered as a lecture series at...

This book brings together a wealth of readings on the metaphor of the "New Negro," charting how generations of thinkers debated its meaning and seized on its potency to stake out an astonishingly broad and sometimes contradictory range of ideological positions. It features dozens of newly...

How do humans stop fighting? Where do the gods of myth come from? What does it mean to go mad? Mark R. Anspach tackles these and other conundrums as he draws on ethnography, literature, psychotherapy, and the theory of René Girard to explore some of the fundamental mechanisms of human interaction. Likening gift exchange to vengeance in reverse, the first part of the book outlines a fresh approach to reciprocity, while the second part traces the emergence of transcendence in collective myths and individual delusions.

Bloomsbury presents Yasodhara and the Buddha by Vanessa R. Sasson, read by Ezra Saifie By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman...

Vom Praktikum zum tristen Büroalltag: Ein urkomischer Debütroman über den ersten Job und große Träume, grandios interpretiert von Mirja Boes: Meryem ist jung, perfekt ausgebildet und so verzweifelt auf Jobsuche, dass sie ein schlecht bezahltes Praktikum im Büro der größten Supermarktkette Gran Canarias beginnt. Täglich pendelt sie mit Bussen, die selten pünktlich sind, nur um sich mit ihrer ignoranten Chefin und Kollegen rumzuschlagen, die ihren Namen nicht richtig aussprechen können.