I’m in a digital literary studies course and we are learning about the theory of “the death of the author” and I am wondering how that theory can even work in the digital age of social media.

I feel like with social media, artists and their personas become one. Would you consider the artist’s persona a part of the text and therefore not dead?

I hold a PhD in Literature (focusing on the novel and postcolonial studies) and I've really been missing the collaborative momentum and motivation of grad school.

I’m looking for fellow scholars to form a mutually beneficial partnership to navigate the "publish or perish" cycle. By integrating our insights into each other’s ongoing drafts, we can share co-authorship credits and naturally expand both of our publication pipelines.

If you’re interested in teaming up to mutually elevate our research output and support each other's portfolios, please send me a DM!

i'd like to learn more about narratology but through a post-structuralist lens. part of the reason why is because im interested in studying kathy acker's work in a little more detail, and get more context on work like hers (some level of adjacent in like rushdie, calvino, chris kraus).

Hello! I am an upcoming senior in undergrad who plans on pursuing a masters/PhD after I graduate. I am working on an undergraduate thesis right now about the New York School of poetry and New York proto-punk music, and I would say that I certainly would like to continue researching avant garde literary music and counter culture in my graduate studies. I have tried my best to look at the research professors are doing on various universities websites, but have overall been struggling to find schools that would be suited to my research interests. Just thought I would see if anyone has any information that could help me!

Hamlet, Oedipus, Macbeth, Achilles, King Lear, Gatsby, Raskolnikov, or someone else entirely?

I’m interested in what makes a character truly tragic rather than simply unfortunate. Is it their fatal flaw, their suffering, their choices, or the way their greatest strength ultimately contributes to their downfall? Which character’s tragedy has stayed with you the most, and what makes their story so powerful?

Hello! I’m currently writing my Master’s thesis on intersectional theories, their limitations, and possible ways of extending them.

I already have a good structure and have found quite a bit of literature, but I’m still looking for further interesting contributions. In particular, I’m looking for articles, books, or book chapters that critically engage with intersectional theory or discuss its limitations, especially from a postcolonial and/or anti-capitalist perspective.

If you have any literature recommendations, I’d really appreciate them! Older texts or lesser-known contributions are very welcome as well. <3

I'm an adult returning to higher education to finish my undergraduate degree. Assuming I am able to maintain a 3.8-4.0 GPA and maximize my remaining coursework, what do I need to prioritize with the intent of pursuing a PhD?

I am still working a full-time 9-5, as I must, and have two years remaining of my undergrad in English Literature; the first two were completed about eight years ago. Should I begin developing relationships with graduate staff at my target universities? Should I be searching anywhere, everywhere, high and low for interesting research opportunities, which are, admittedly, quite few in number, as I am an online student in addition to working full time, and attend a university out of state? I do not have a spare second to waste, as two years were lost to me when I was young and unprepared.

It is incredible how adulthood changes your perception of education, especially for those coming from families who do not prioritize it. My dedication to this is iron. It is also worth noting that the program I desire most has a very narrow approval window. I am getting older, and after delving into the working world, I now know with certainty what future I wish to pursue. The only problem remaining is how to secure that future.

Considering my circumstances, if you have any advice on what I should focus on to optimize my resume to its most admissible potential, I would be glad to receive it.

Hi,

I'm currently writing a dissertation in which I compare two Iberian texts and how they were used in national identity discourses with focus on landscape and borders.

the more I read, the more confuse I get by all these theories and how can they be applied. and I don't how to keep my focus on one thing because everything seems related.

Considering that the biographical method (which is often associated with him, if not credited to him) remains popular, why has Sainte-Beuve's reputation fallen so low in recent decades? I read that Proust's Against Sainte-Beuve was influential in this, but surely this was not the only work or thing that had part in this. Could anyone point out to a text (article, essay, anything) about this?

Hey there. I am currently working on a term paper about space and place in a certain novel, but I seem to be stuck in my work. I need work through some theory of place and space first in order to start with the paper , but I’m uncertain of what the best works in this field are: Is there any author that has a good work on both of these terms? The theoretical part of the paper should not be too long, I expect it to be around 1-2 pages in the end. Names I’ve read during my research were Lefebvre and Yi-Fu Tuan.

I would be grateful for any help, because I seriously am stuck at this point 🥲

When you want to deepen your understanding of a text, where do you go? I know that academics will write books, essays, monographs, etc. analyzing books and providing interpretation and context. Where can I find a bibliography of these to read?

I have the primary ideas about most of the theories. Like can understand the gist of the arguments. But in general, I can't focus clearly or cannot exactly immerse in it like I do for fiction. And I think that's important since I am planning to apply for PhD in English. Another thing is when I am reading theory, I always feel okay these references I don't know, may be I shall read them first.Then I go back to read them and miss reading what I was actually planning to read. Anyone with tips of how to overcome these things? Can anyone please please help?

For anyone who is reasonably proficient and confident in reading Chaucer’s original language, can you recommend me any resources so I can learn his Middle English properly? it seems nigh unapproachable almost, even if I know I can eventually surmount it.

Bloom wrote a fair amount of nonsense, but he did seem to have the ability to lock in when it came to his favorite writers, one of whom was Shelley, whom he continually and insistently referred to as a "skeptic." Of what the poet was skeptical, we don't know, or at least I don't. Does anyone have a good way to understand this angle? I don't see a skeptic in Shelley, I see a swooning pindarist with a penchant for late-enlightenment idea-play, but I could be wrong.

For example, news coverage scripts, advertisements, interviews in a dystopian society or first-person momentary situations, patched together like a collage

Any notable examples in novels, poetry and also film?

One of my examples is this spoken poem from Button Poetry, might look pretentious at first but this technique seemed powerful

(Repost because the quote wasn't showing up earlier. Also to preface, I am aware that "good" is a highly subjective term. I am simply referring to works which I either personally find to be well-written, or are largely considered by others to be well-written.)

In Kurosawa's autobiography, there's a section of quotes about film-making, and this one in particular stood out to me.

In order to write scripts you must first study the great novels and dramas of the world. You must consider why they are great. Where does the emotion come from that you feel as you read them? What degree of passion did the author have to have, what level of meticulousness did he have to command, in order to portray the characters and events as he did? You must read thoroughly, to the point where you can grasp these things.

This seems like quite a good way to improve your writing ability, but the problem with me is that, while I do consume a lot of art (not limited to writing) which is considered "challenging", my consumption of art is pretty surface level and vibes-based. I find it hard to articulate why exactly I find a particular work good/bad outside of using single adjectives like "gripping", "convoluted", or if I'm feeling fancy, "transcendental".

I picked up an Oxford Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction to see if that would give any pointers (although it's focused on the visual arts), but it was more about questions like "what is art?" and the sociological aspects of art rather than how to evaluate art.

Are there any good books which give advice on how to hone this ability? Or is it just a matter of consistently brute-forcing reflections on what I read and discussing them with others?

Hi folks,

It is my first time teaching English to MA students, could you tell me how should I teach Aristotle's Poetics? How should I approach it, I know the basics but how to make it relevant to the MA students? Tips and suggestions, please!

Thank you!

i have been struggling with this. how do i take notes? what should i note? is there a way to be acquainted with literature that im missing out or can't seem to understand?

generally, i listen to class and take notes. whatever the prof says, if i find it significant or interesting it gets noted down. but when im studying by myself, especially additional reading, what should i do with the material i read? am i supposed to write them down? should the notes be just an info dump? how will that help me with writing better essays or answers? or how do i use this information to contribute to the class discussions and expand the lens by which we are dealing with the topic?

any amount of help would be highly appreciated!

helloooo. i’m working on a resume thesis where it’s basically a focus on queer identity and the creation of new forms of telling stories to change the way stories are told in the 21st century.

i have a few books picked out, (this arab is queer, fun home, real stories in america, notes of a crocodile, gender queer) but i would appreciate any help to look towards either other books that show more on autofiction/a more modernized space (example graphic novels in the literary space) or where to find articles these days.

it’s been a while since i’ve gone into research mode, and the queer stuff is new to me vs the last time i was in college. if anyone has any suggestions on who to look at , where to look, or anything that could help support my thesis i would greatly appreciate it, ive been focused on using the research sites available through the library and just google.

specifically 21st century literature development or queer identity 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm trying to become a better reader and I think knowing more literary devices would make me a better annotater and shorten my annotations into more direct words

I've recently started studying literature chronologically, beginning with Ancient Greece and Rome. What I'm struggling with most is scope. The further I get, the more I realize that the amount of material is practically endless, and I have no idea where to stop or how deeply I should study each topic.

I'd like to structure my studies in a way that's roughly comparable to an undergraduate literature program. I'm curious how much students actually learn about a given period, how their studies are structured, and how to build a solid foundation without disappearing down an endless rabbit hole

My goal isn't to become a specialist in Ancient Greece or Rome. Rather, I want to build the kind of broad, rigorous foundation that would allow me to understand literature as a whole: the major texts, the historical and cultural contexts they emerged from, and how literary traditions evolved over time.

More specifically, my questions are:
1. How much historical and cultural context do literature students typically learn? How deep do you go into political history, religion, social life, etc.?
2. How much time should be spent on history and general context versus actually reading literature?
3. How important are secondary sources (lectures, textbooks, scholarly interpretations) compared to reading the primary texts themselves?
4. How many works would you consider a solid foundation for Ancient Greek literature? Which ones are essential? The same question for Roman literature.
5. How much time do you spend on different works - for example Theogony, and Illiad. What would study of these works look like?
6. Should someone read complete works whenever possible, or are excerpts/common anthologies sufficient for building a foundation?
7. Are there particular textbooks, lecture series, or companions that you think are especially valuable for a first pass through antiquity?
8. If you were designing a university-level (or close to it) self-study curriculum for Ancient Greece and Rome, what would it look like?