Work!: A Queer History of Modeling, by Elspeth H. Brown Shahidha Bari on an original telling of 20th-century culture that poses questions around race, gender and authenticity By Shahidha Bari 2 May
Fray: Art and Textile Politics, by Julia Bryan-Wilson Shahidha Bari on an idiosyncratic book that attempts to understand the politics of textile culture By Shahidha Bari 19 April
Cultural soldiers mass in the academic ranks Their emphasis on cultivating understanding makes universities natural homes for those at war with their societies, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 22 February
Urbanization and English Romantic Poetry, by Stephen Tedeschi How did mushrooming cities influence verse and vice versa? Shahidha Bari on a bold study By Shahidha Bari 11 January
Who can resist the pleasure of Schadenfreude? Academic disputes can be acrimonious and unedifying, but victory is always sweet, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 23 November
The curse of the living deadline The necessity of regular publication curbs the freedom that can make scholarly work original and important, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 28 September
Consumptive Chic: A History of Beauty, Fashion, and Disease Book of the week: Shahidha Bari enjoys a study of how tuberculosis influenced notions of attractiveness and breeding By Shahidha Bari 28 September
Swept up in scholarly symposia It's surprising how enjoyable a trip on the conference carousel can be By Shahidha Bari 27 July
The Making of Jane Austen, by Devoney Looser Shahidha Bari follows the historical trail to see how the author of Pride and Prejudice became the celebrity figure we know today By Shahidha Bari 29 June
Smash the academic idols Academics can acquire cult-like followings, but our goal should not be self-aggrandisement but the advancement of others, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 15 June
Psyche on the Skin: A History of Self-Harm, by Sarah Chaney Shahidha Bari finds much to admire in a detailed exploration of self-injury through the ages By Shahidha Bari 30 March
John Cleese’s headmaster is no role model for academics While learning to work quickly is a useful life skill, a greater gift to students is permitting unhurried excursions and digressions, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 23 March
Marvellous Thieves: Secret Authors of the Arabian Nights, by Paolo Lemos Horta Shahidha Bari on a rich account of all the voices that shaped and reshaped the Arabian Nights By Shahidha Bari 2 February
Still working on a positive attitude Has scholarly pessimism helped fuel anti-expert rhetoric? Panglossian we are not, but when hope fails, there’s humour, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 2 February
Marriage as a Fine Art, by Julia Kristeva and Philippe Sollers Book of the week: The scrutiny to which two intellectuals submit their relationship fascinates Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 15 December
Life Breaks In (A Mood Almanack), by Mary Cappello Shahidha Bari on an idiosyncratic and tantalising inward-looking exercise in soulful diary-keeping By Shahidha Bari 1 December
Trump is the very definition of ‘vulgar’ The word can mean many things – most of which apply to The Donald. Shahidha Bari muses on how the terms of discourse reflect our age By Shahidha Bari 3 November
Everyday Stories, by Rachel Bowlby This study reminds us of the radicalism of bringing the quotidian into art, writes Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 18 August
The Olympics are here: let’s sing the body electric The Games remind cerebral sorts that the brain resides in an amazing physical vessel, Shahidha Bari writes By Shahidha Bari 18 August
EU referendum: universities’ values will remain, whatever the outcome Martin McQuillan and Shahidha Bari consider the Brexit debate and the higher education sector’s role in it By Martin McQuillan 23 June
CVs of failure in academia do not tell the whole story Being open about failure is one thing, but we must also look at how we define success, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 19 May
Botticelli Reimagined: what will Venus do next? The impulse to make things relevant is not always facile, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 14 April
Lean in? Leaning out could improve early career academics’ lot Shahidha Bari on Sheryl Sandberg, sex discrimination and university exploitation By Shahidha Bari 3 March
The Love of Strangers: What Six Muslim Students Learned in Jane Austen’s London, by Nile Green Persian migrants’ tales illuminate the attitudes and culture of Regency era, says Shahidha Bari By Shahidha Bari 21 January
