Public Books 101 takes a scholarly look at a world worth studying. In each mini-series, world-class scholars and writers join our host to examine a single topic from many angles, opening a window into the conversations that experts are having with one another about the urgent issues and problems facing us today.
Season 1 takes on the internet: the vast digital environment that has changed the way we live, work, and form communities. Season 2 explores another technology that facilitates communication and self-expression—but one that is considerably older: the novel. What are novels still doing for readers in the 21st century?
Public Books 101 is a production of Public Books, a magazine of arts, scholarship, and ideas. The magazine is free to read online at www.publicbooks.org, and you can find more information about the podcast, including a reading list designed by our guests, at www.publicbooks.org/podcast.
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Public Books 101 takes a scholarly look at a world worth studying. In each mini-series, world-class scholars and writers join our host to examine a single topic from many angles, opening a window into the conversations that experts are having with one another about the urgent issues and problems facing us today.
Season 1 takes on the internet: the vast digital environment that has changed the way we live, work, and form communities. Season 2 explores another technology that facilitates communication and self-expression—but one that is considerably older: the novel. What are novels still doing for readers in the 21st century?
Public Books 101 is a production of Public Books, a magazine of arts, scholarship, and ideas. The magazine is free to read online at www.publicbooks.org, and you can find more information about the podcast, including a reading list designed by our guests, at www.publicbooks.org/podcast.
Novels and Catastrophe (with Heidi Julavits and Leah Price)
Public Books 101
1 hour 1 minute 25 seconds
4 years ago
Novels and Catastrophe (with Heidi Julavits and Leah Price)
Novelist Heidi Julavits and scholar Leah Price join our host, Nicholas Dames, to consider how novels help us make sense of catastrophe.
When Ling Ma's Severance was published in 2018, the idea of an airborne global plague seemed theoretical. In hindsight, it appears eerily prescient. How do novels like Severance guide us to understand our place in historical time—to process events like pandemics alongside the mundanity of everyday working life?
You can find complete show notes here and purchase books from our independent-bookshop partner, Harvard Book Store, here.
Public Books 101
Public Books 101 takes a scholarly look at a world worth studying. In each mini-series, world-class scholars and writers join our host to examine a single topic from many angles, opening a window into the conversations that experts are having with one another about the urgent issues and problems facing us today.
Season 1 takes on the internet: the vast digital environment that has changed the way we live, work, and form communities. Season 2 explores another technology that facilitates communication and self-expression—but one that is considerably older: the novel. What are novels still doing for readers in the 21st century?
Public Books 101 is a production of Public Books, a magazine of arts, scholarship, and ideas. The magazine is free to read online at www.publicbooks.org, and you can find more information about the podcast, including a reading list designed by our guests, at www.publicbooks.org/podcast.
