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 for free 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)).

  • ASYRAS: A TOAST TO ITS GROWTH AND TO THE FUTURE OF YOUNG RESEARCHERS IN SPAIN

    I have had a memorable birthday present as one of the guest plenary speakers of the third ASYRAS conference, celebrated at the University of Oviedo. This was intriguingly called “The Significance of the Insignificant in Anglophone Studies”, a title apparently inspired by Bergson. Very philosophical! I cannot sufficiently thank organisers Alejandra Moreno and Irene Pérez…

  • SIMPLY PUZZLING: WHY ARE THE (ACADEMIC) SKILLS WE TEACH SO SOON FORGOTTEN?

    A recurrent topic of conversation among us, teachers, these days (we’re marking tons of essays…) is that students seem to forget from one year to the next how to apply the academic skills we teach them. Even from one semester to the next. Let me explain myself: they need to learn in the first year…

  • AND THE SORTING HAT?: MORE PLANNING ON HARRY POTTER, WITH SOME WORRIES ABOUT THE BIBLIOGRAPHY…

    My thanks to the prospective students of the Harry Potter elective for their positive feedback, it seems I’m on the right track regarding the issues they expect me to raise in class. Now, this post refers to a problem that I’m having regarding this subject in particular but that can be extended to any other…

  • WHERE’S MY MAGIC WAND??: PLANNING HOW TO TEACH THE HARRY POTTER SERIES

    As a consequence of a post I published here last Christmas I have finally embarked on the very difficult mission of teaching J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series next year. Yes, very difficult, believe me. Since the subject is formally ‘Cultural Studies’ I have decided to use the first few weeks for an overview of this…

  • … AND FEAR OF THE TITLE FOR ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS: HOW TO OVERCOME IT

    If I had a euro for every time a student has handed in an essay with no title, I’d be… in less fear of the current crisis. Not rich but possibly in possession of, say, a much better handbag. Actually, if I think about it, there are two variations to this problem: essays with no…