Books in the The Literary Agenda series

Seth Lerer explores our relationship to the literary past in an age marked by historical self-consciousness, critical distance, and shifts in cultural literacy. He examines a range of fiction, poetry, and criticism in order to understand the ways in which the literary past makes us, and how we create canons for reading, teaching, and scholarship.

Ordinary life is full of words, images, and stories: we spend our days talking and writing about what's going on, and what has happened. Rachel Bowlby makes us think again about this life: always the same, always slightly changing. Drawing out the stories that surround us, she explores everyday stories, old and new-in literature and in real life.

Being Literate in the 21st Century tackles some of the most difficult questions for the next generation around literacy and thought, as we continue to move into a digital culture. It explores research from multiple disciplines on what it means to be literate, and addresses the problem of universal literacy.

Rowan Williams explores the definition of the tragic as a mode of narrative, in this short and thought-provoking volume. He turns to subjects including the role of irony in tragedy, the relationship between tragedy and political as well as religious rhetoric, common ground between tragedy and comedy, and the complex place of theology in the debate.

Rick Rylance addresses the debate over the public value of literary studies, from antiquity to the present day. He offers an account of the foundational issue of 'the public good' and explores the disciplinary integrity of literary study.

Michael Levenson considers how the humanities exist beyond the walls of universities and take place in daily life- in book clubs, public libraries, museums, and historical re-enactments. He poses questions about amateurs versus professionals, what constitutes expertise, and the recent backlash against political elites.

Medical Humanities comprises disciplines as diverse as literature, the visual and performing arts, the history of medicine, and bioethics. Josie Billington examines the value that literature adds to medical education in health training and practice, and defends the power of the arts as a remedial force.

The Novel: A Survival Skill radically reevaluates traditional literary criticism offering an exciting account of what is really at stake in the business of writing and reading.

At a time when literature is thought to have limited value in a world dominated by scientific thinking, this volume offers close readings of John Milton's major works to argue that poetry is a vital means of knowing the world and answering the most fundamental questions.

A short introduction and overview of developing intersections between digital methods and literary studies that offers the best starting place for those who wish to learn more about the possibilities, but also the limitations, of the digital humanities in the literary space.