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)).

  • READING MEMOIRS: EDITING LIFE

    I am currently reading the memoirs by British pianist James Rhodes, Instrumental (2014), which caused quite a stir at the time of publication for his straightforward description of the horrifying sexual abuse to which he was subjected between the ages of 6 and 10 (and its aftermath). This is the sixteenth book of memoirs I…

  • TU PROPIA MARCA: LA (IN)VISIBILIDAD DE LOS ACADÉMICOS

    Para mi sorpresa, mi Facultad me invitó a asistir a un seminario de la escritora y coach Neus Arquès dirigido a lograr que nuestras marcas personales sean más sólidas y visibles. Convertida en consultora autónoma, Arquès afirma que fue una de las impulsoras en España de la idea de la marca personal, más allá, supongo,…

  • YOUR OWN BRAND: THE (IN)VISIBILITY OF ACADEMICS

    To my surprise, my school invited me to attend a seminar by writer and coach Neus Arquès addressed to making our personal brands more solid and visible. Having turned herself into a self-employed consultor, Arquès claims that she was one of the introducers in Spain of the idea of the personal brand, beyond, I assume,…

  • ESTUPIDEZ: LA PALABRA PROHIBIDA EN EL AULA

    Recomiendo de todo corazón el delicioso volumen colectivo editado por el psicólogo Jean-François Marmion, El triunfo de la estupidez (originalmente Psychologie de la Connerie, 2018) por su verdaderamente gloriosa incursión en todo tipo de tontería. Realmente hace pensar. El libro de Marmion advierte que la estupidez es difícil de definir y explorar porque tiene múltiples…

  • STUPIDITY: THE FORBIDDEN WORD IN THE CLASSROOM

    I whole-heartedly recommend the delicious collective volume edited by psychologist Jean-François Marmion, The Psychology of Stupidity (2020; originally Psychologie de la Connerie, 2018; trans. Liesl Schillinger) for its truly glorious outing of all types of thoughtlessness. It is really thought-provoking! Marmion’s volume warns that stupidity is hard to define and explore because it has multiple…