Is a Suitable Boy by Vicram Seth, Marxism and Literature?

It’s great to be back after an extended holiday. I’m recharged and ready to go. We have an exciting line-up for the rest of the year, including our FreshEd Flux episodes. Before we start today, I’d like say hello to all our new listeners who may be joining us for the first time as they start their degrees at universities across the Northern Hemisphere. I hope you find FreshEd useful in your studies and please be sure to get in touch! We love hearing from listeners. Over the past few weeks on holiday, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. It’s been really relaxing. Reading is a fundamental part of education. There’s no way around it. There’s even an idea called “foundational literacy” that is being championed – not without controversy -- within international development circles. But let’s put that to one side. I’m more interested in what people are reading. Have you ever wondered what some of your teachers or fellow peers are reading? Today we continue our mini-series called the FreshEd Questionnaire. Over the past eight months, I’ve asked FreshEd guests a set of standard questions after each interview. These questions ask guests how they approach writing, reading, research, and supervision. These are the day-to-day activities we do inside universities, but perhaps don’t talk too much about them. I want to talk about them. The first volume in this mini-series, which you should go back to listen to if you haven’t, explored research supervision. It offers great insight and tips for new university students. In today’s episode we explore books. I asked guests who are their favourite writers and why? What we learn is that academics read far and wide. Some stick to academic texts directly in the field of education. Others read non-fiction far beyond the field of education. And still others devour fiction, using it as a source of inspiration in their own academic work. My hope is by listening to this mash-up of voices you’ll think about your own reading habits and realize the value of reading in education. I hope you enjoy the show! freshedpodcast.com/291-questionnaire -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com Support FreshEd: www.freshedpodcast.com/support/