What is public scholarship?

You may have heard us mention the term “public scholarship” when talking about the mission of our podcast and our community of readers here at Novel Pairings. But what exactly is public scholarship, and how does it apply to us as lifelong learners? Today in our first Modern Readers episode, we’re sitting down to define public scholarship, share how our backgrounds in academia and the classroom help us on our mission of public scholarship, and discuss how we hope this framework will open up conversations and allow our fellow readers to think of themselves as public scholars, too. You’ll also hear about our recent reads that surprisingly fit the theme of today’s discussion, and we’ll share some additional titles and resources readers can check out to keep learning about this topic. 

Episode Timestamps 

Recent Reads - 2:42

What is Public Scholarship? - 11:15

Further Reading for Public Literature Scholars - 38:39

Books Mentioned

Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction (and the whole very short introduction series)

Norton Critical Editions

The Literature Book from DK

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Forester

Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf

Reader Come Home by Maryanne Wolf

Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

These Truths by Jill Lepore

Substack Recommendations

Novel Pairings

Sweater Weather (Brandon Taylor)  

Submakk (Rebecca Makkai)

Culture Study (Anne Helen Peterson)

So Many Thoughts (Elizabeth Holmes)