The Scholar's Armchair

Dr. John Burton
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Great minds on the greatest ideas: Conversations with scholars on their area of expertise for a general audience. Less like a lecture, more a conversation with an expert. Check us out on YouTube!

  1. 3d ago

    What Darwin did to Emily Dickinson | Prof Renée Bergland

    Read the book: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691235301/natural-magic?_gl=1*1dmglc8*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTczMjY1MDM3LjE3ODIyMTg4Njg.*_ga_N1W9JWKLY3*czE3ODIyMTg4NjckbzEkZzAkdDE3ODIyMTg4NjckajYwJGwwJGgxODg0NTE5NzQ3 Emily Dickinson is often imagined as a secluded poet, withdrawn from the world and writing from the privacy of her room in Amherst. But what if she was actually responding to one of the greatest intellectual revolutions in human history? In this episode of The Scholar’s Armchair, I speak with Prof Renée Bergland about her book Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science. We explore how Dickinson’s poetry emerged at a moment when traditional ideas about nature, faith, and humanity were being challenged by new scientific discoveries, particularly the evolutionary theories associated with Charles Darwin. Was Dickinson simply a poet of inwardness, or was she grappling with the same questions that confronted the modern world? How did evolutionary thinking change the way people understood nature, death, and meaning? And how did Dickinson’s distinctive poetic style become a way of exploring uncertainty rather than escaping it? Our conversation examines Dickinson’s scientific education, her fascination with the natural world, her engagement with questions of belief and doubt, and Bergland’s compelling argument that Dickinson developed a form of “natural magic”: a way of preserving wonder in a universe no longer guaranteed by divine certainty. Whether you’re interested in poetry, literature, philosophy, science, religion, or the history of ideas, this discussion offers a fascinating new perspective on one of America’s greatest poets.

    55 min

  2. Jun 21

    A Cultural History of Goblins | Prof Matt King

    What exactly is a goblin? Today we imagine goblins as fantasy creatures from Tolkien, Dungeons & Dragons, Harry Potter, and video games. But where did they come from, and why have they survived for centuries while so many other monsters have faded away? In this episode of The Scholar’s Armchair, I speak with historian Matt King about his fascinating book A History of Goblins. We trace the goblin’s journey from medieval Europe, where goblins were often feared as demonic beings, through Victorian literature and folklore, to their reinvention in modern fantasy, gaming, and even internet culture. Along the way we discuss fairyland, demons, Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market, Tolkien’s influence on fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons, Goblincore, and what our enduring fascination with goblins reveals about human fears, desires, and imagination. Far from being a minor fantasy creature, the goblin turns out to be a surprisingly revealing guide to the history of religion, folklore, literature, and popular culture. Topics discussed: * The medieval origins of goblins * Goblins, demons, and fairy folklore * Why goblins are so difficult to define * Victorian goblins and Goblin Market * Tolkien, orcs, and modern fantasy * Dungeons & Dragons and gaming culture * Goblin Mode and Goblincore * What monsters reveal about society Links: Matt’s book A History of Goblins: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-01063-6 Matt’s profile at University of South Florida: https://www.usf.edu/arts-sciences/departments/history/people/matt-king.aspx #Goblins #Folklore #Fantasy #Tolkien #DnD #History #Mythology #Literature #MattKing #TheScholarsArmchair #GoblinMarket #FantasyHistory #MedievalHistory #FairyTales #CulturalHistory

    59 min

  3. Jun 14

    What does Metamodern Architecture look like?

    Are our buildings changing because we are changing? In this episode of The Scholar’s Armchair, I speak with Amritt Flora, Course Leader for the MA Interior and Spatial Design at Chelsea College of Arts, about the emergence of a possible metamodern shift in architecture and design. Our conversation begins with a simple observation. Over the last decade, design students seem to be approaching the world differently. Questions of identity, feeling, sincerity, uncertainty, and meaning have become increasingly important. Could these changes be part of a broader cultural movement that scholars have called metamodernism? Together we explore: What metamodernism means in practice The journey from modernism to postmodernism and beyond Why architecture is always designing for a future that does not yet exist The move from certainty and fixed rules toward complexity and contradiction Why contemporary designers are increasingly concerned with emotion, experience, and interior life Whether architecture can foster connection, meaning, and belonging How today's students are reshaping the way we think about design What the built environment reveals about wider cultural change Along the way we discuss oscillation between sincerity and irony, the fragmentation of styles in contemporary culture, the changing role of architects, and whether we are witnessing a renewed search for meaning after the postmodern age. If you've enjoyed our previous conversations on metamodernism, philosophy, literature, and culture, this episode extends the discussion into the spaces we inhabit every day. Can a building be sincere? Can a room express hope? And what does the architecture of the twenty-first century tell us about who we are becoming? ====================• Links: The MA course in interior and spatial design: https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/architecture-spatial-and-interior-design/postgraduate/ma-interior-and-spatial-design-camberwell Work showcase: https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/c/camberwell-college-of-arts-ma-interior-and-spatial-design?query=%21nullquery&collection=ual-showcase&num_ranks=12&sort=dmetasortKey&meta_hideFromCollege_sand=0&meta_college_sand=Camberwell+College+of+Arts&f.Courses%7Ccourse=MA+Interior+and+Spatial+Design&start_rank=25#about YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ_HubX0o9Y&t=9s Course Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/maisdccw ======================= #Metamodernism #Architecture #Design #SpatialDesign #InteriorDesign #Philosophy #Culture #TheScholarsArmchair #AmrittFlora #Postmodernism #Modernism #Meaning #ArchitectureTheory #ContemporaryCulture #UniversityoftheArtsLondon

    1h 8m

  4. Jun 6

    What RILKE can teach us about attention | Lesley Chamberlain

    Have we lost the inner life? In this episode of The Scholar’s Armchair, I speak with author and cultural critic Lesley Chamberlain about her book Rilke: The Last Inward Man and the enduring relevance of one of Europe’s greatest poets, Rainer Maria Rilke. Chamberlain argues that Rilke stood at the end of a long tradition of inwardness: a tradition that saw the inner life as a source of meaning, creativity, and spiritual depth. At a time when religion was losing its authority and modernity was transforming society, Rilke sought to discover whether poetry and art could preserve a sense of transcendence in an increasingly fragmented world. In our conversation, we discuss Rilke’s childhood, his relationship with Lou Andreas-Salomé, his transformative journeys to Russia, the influence of Auguste Rodin, the Duino Elegies, the Sonnets to Orpheus, and whether art can replace religion as a source of meaning. Most importantly, we explore a question that feels increasingly urgent today: What happens when a culture loses faith in the value of the inner life? ⸻ Topics discussed: * Rilke and the meaning of inwardness * Attention, solitude, and modern distraction * Poetry, spirituality, and transcendence * Lou Andreas-Salomé and Russia’s influence on Rilke * Rodin and the discipline of attention * The Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus * Art after the decline of religion * Why Rilke still matters today ⸻ Links: Lesley’s book Rilke: The Last Inward Man: https://pushkinpress.com/book/rilke-the-last-inward-man/ Lesley’s Novel The Mozhaisk Road: Russian Heart of Darkness: https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/the-mozhaisk-road _____ If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share the video. It helps more people discover thoughtful discussions about literature, philosophy, history, and culture. #Rilke #Poetry #Philosophy #Literature #TheScholarsArmchair #LesleyChamberlain #Reading #Culture #Attention #InnerLife #Books #LiteraryCriticism #Modernity #Spirituality #ArtAndMeaning

    1h 3m

  5. May 31

    Why we are still telling the Odyssey story | Prof Joel P Christensen

    What makes Odysseus the most enduring figure in all of literature? In this episode of The Scholar’s Armchair, I’m joined by Joel P. Christensen to explore one of the most fascinating characters ever created: Odysseus. From Homer’s Odyssey to modern films, novels, and even war narratives, Odysseus has never stopped changing. He is a hero, a liar, a survivor, a strategist, and perhaps one of the first true antiheroes in Western literature. But why has this figure endured when so many others have faded? We explore how Odysseus has been reimagined across history, from ancient Greece to Dante Alighieri, and into modern culture, where he increasingly appears as a traumatised veteran struggling to return home. Along the way, we ask whether the Odyssey is not just a story about adventure, but one of the earliest explorations of identity, storytelling, and survival. If Achilles represents glory, Odysseus represents something closer to us: adaptability, contradiction, and the cost of making it back alive. Why do we keep returning to Odysseus? And what does that say about us? Topics include: The meaning of “the man of many ways” Odysseus as hero vs antihero How different cultures reinvent him Trauma, nostalgia, and the idea of home Why the Odyssey feels more modern than the Iliad Subscribe for more conversations with leading scholars bringing great literature to life. ================== Links: Joel's book Why Odysseus?: https://link.springer.com/book/9783032209863 Joel's profile page: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/people/joel-p-christensen

    58 min

  6. May 24

    Why the Victorians Needed Jane AUSTEN | Prof Cheryl Wilson

    What did the Victorians really think of Jane Austen — and how did they reshape her legacy? In this episode of The Scholar’s Armchair, I speak with Prof Cheryl A. Wilson, author of *Jane Austen and the Victorian Heroine*, about the surprising afterlife of Austen in the nineteenth century. We often think of Austen as timeless — but as Dr Wilson shows, the Victorians didn’t just admire her. They *used* her. Through the figure of the heroine, Austen became a tool for thinking about reading, gender, class, and even national identity. We explore how Victorian writers: * turned Austen into a guide for “good reading” and moral taste * rewrote and adapted her heroines for a changing world * struggled with complex characters like Emma * used Austen in debates about femininity and the New Woman * transformed her into a cultural icon: “England’s Jane” We also discuss Dr Wilson’s fascinating work on *Persuasion*, where she argues that Austen structures the novel like a dance — even without a ballroom scene — revealing new insights into desire, movement, and social mobility. This conversation reveals a different Austen: not fixed, but constantly reinterpreted — and still shaping how we read today. --- Links: Cheryl's book Jane Austen and the Victorian Heroine: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-62965-0 Cheryl's article on dance and Persuasion: https://jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number25/wilson.pdf --- **Subscribe for more conversations with leading literary scholars exploring the big ideas behind classic literature.** #JaneAusten #VictorianLiterature #LiteraryCriticism #Persuasion #ClassicLiterature #Books #TheScholarsArmchair

    41 min

  7. May 17

    Virginia WOOLF’s Philosophy of Reality | Prof Thomas Nail

    What did Virginia Woolf really mean by her famous “moments of being”? Were they simply flashes of heightened consciousness… or was Woolf trying to reveal something deeper about reality itself? In this episode of The Scholar’s Armchair, I’m joined by philosopher Thomas Nail to discuss his fascinating new book The Philosophy of Virginia Woolf: Moments of Becoming. Nail argues that Woolf was not just a novelist of inner life, but a philosopher in her own right — one who saw reality not as made of fixed things, but of movement, flow, and interrelated processes. Together we explore: * Woolf’s “moments of being” * Why Nail calls them “moments of becoming” * Time, perception, and the unstable self * Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and The Waves * Woolf’s relevance to modern philosophy and new materialism * Whether literature can actually change how we perceive reality If you enjoy Virginia Woolf, modernism, philosophy, literary theory, or process thought, this conversation offers a fresh and deeply thought-provoking way into her work. ======================== Links: Thomas’s book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/philosophy-of-virginia-woolf-9781350526051/ Thomas’s university profile: https://liberalarts.du.edu/about/people/thomas-andrew-nail #VirginiaWoolf #Modernism #Philosophy #Literature #LiteraryTheory #ThomasNail #MrsDalloway #TheWaves #ToTheLighthouse #TheScholarsArmchair

    1h 17m

  8. May 10

    What SHAKESPEARE really teaches us about how to listen | Prof Kent Lehnhof

    What if ethics begins not with understanding… but with listening? In this episode of The Scholar’s Armchair, I’m joined by Professor Kent Lehnhof to explore his book Voice and Ethics in Shakespeare’s Late Plays — a fascinating rethinking of how we relate to one another through literature, philosophy, and everyday life. Drawing on the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, Lehnhof argues that Shakespeare’s plays are not just about misunderstanding or miscommunication, but about something more fundamental: our failure to truly hear one another. Moving beyond the traditional focus on sight and interpretation, this conversation explores the ethical power of the human voice — not just what is said, but the act of speaking and listening itself. Through plays like King Lear, Pericles, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest, we examine how voices can dominate, deceive, disrupt, and ultimately restore human connection. From the collapse of language in tragedy to the redemptive power of listening in Shakespeare’s late romances, this interview uncovers a quietly radical idea: 👉 Ethics begins in the ear, not the eye. This episode will change the way you think about Shakespeare — and perhaps the way you listen to others. Topics discussed include: Why listening is central to ethical life William Shakespeare and the power of voice in drama Levinas, responsibility, and the encounter with the Other The breakdown of language in King Lear The redemptive voice in Pericles Paulina and the ethics of difficult speech in The Winter’s Tale Voice, power, and colonialism in The Tempest ======================================== Links: Kent's book Voice and Ethics in Shakespeare's Late Plays: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/voice-and-ethics-in-shakespeares-late-plays/FEC6657771A30ED5A765AD89AE37C4A2 Kent's profile page: https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/kent-lehnhof.aspx 🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts

    42 min
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Great minds on the greatest ideas: Conversations with scholars on their area of expertise for a general audience. Less like a lecture, more a conversation with an expert. Check us out on YouTube!

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  • Creator
    Dr. John Burton
  • Years Active
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  • Episodes
    20
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    © Dr. John Burton
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    The Scholar's Armchair

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