The Joys of Teaching Literature, started in September 2010 and with a Spanish version since July 2021, is a blog for ranting and raving about (teaching and researching) English Literature, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies, and other aspects of the Anglophone world. I publish a post once a week, usually on Monday. Please, download the yearly volumes from https://ddd.uab.cat/record/116328, or read the volume collecting some of the entries (Passionate Professing: The Context and Practice of English Literature, 2023). The comments option is not available, sorry, but you may contact me through my e-mail address, Sara.Martin@uab.cat. The contents of this blog are protected by a type 4 Creative Common License (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (by-nc-nd)).

  • SF AND SPECULATIVE FICTION: SPECULATING ON LABELS

    Ann Leckie and Cat Rambo, both SF authors and good friends, participated in a delicious session at Festival 42, last month here in Barcelona. During their conversation with Leticia Lara, Leckie, known for her Imperial Radch space opera trilogy (Ancillary Justice 2013, Ancillary Sword 2014, and Ancillary Mercy 2015), complained against the use of the…

  • CIENCIA FICCIÓN Y FICCIÓN ESPECULATIVA: ESPECULANDO SOBRE LAS ETIQUETAS

    Ann Leckie y Cat Rambo, ambas autoras de ciencia ficción y buenas amigas, participaron en una deliciosa sesión en el Festival 42, el mes pasado aquí en Barcelona. Durante su conversación con Leticia Lara, Leckie, conocida por su trilogía de ópera espacial Imperial Radch (Justicia Auxiliar 2013, Espada auxiliar 2014, y Misericordia auxiliar 2015), se…

  • WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR CLASSROOMS: ON THOSE BORED FACES (AGAIN)

    Last Tuesday I attended a lecture on dystopia in film and TV series taught by a brilliant Turkish visiting professor, which was also attended by four other university professors, including the one who had invited the visitor. I won’t name the university, a renowned public university, but will note that the students (about 20?) are…

  • LO QUE PASA EN NUESTRAS AULAS: ESAS CARAS DE ABURRIMIENTO

    El martes pasado asistí a una clase sobre distopías en el cine y las series impartida por un brillante profesor visitante turco, a la que también asistieron otros cuatro profesores universitarios, incluido el que había invitado al visitante. No diré en qué universidad, excepto que es una universidad pública de renombre, pero comento que los…

  • ON TRASH: TWO SCATHING REVIEWS

    This post is inspired by two very different book reviews. On 7 November Laura Miller published in Slate the review of Rebecca Yarros’s Iron Flame. The piece is titled “‘I’ve Been Yours for Longer Than You Could Ever Imagine”: Is the dragon-school ‘romantasy’ series that’s dominating the bestseller lists actually any good?” On 10 November…