Why Jane Austen is definitely not just for girls

By Shelley Galpin, Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King's College London

In my former life as a teacher, I once had a job interview in which I was asked how I dealt with the problem of teaching Jane Austen to boys.

Having had experience of this situation, I confidently told my interviewer (a maths teacher) that the “problem” they were assuming didn’t actually exist, and that it was perfectly possible to teach Austen’s novels to mixed-sex classes with successful results. My answer was met by barely veiled scepticism – and suffice to say, I didn’t get the job.

Read complete article

~	As house prices drop, will the retirement nest egg still be such a safe bet?

~	Florida is fronting the $450M cost of Alligator Alcatraz – a legal scholar explains what we still don’t know about the detainees

~	Trump free to begin gutting Department of Education after Supreme Court ‘shadow’ ruling − 5 essential reads

~	How safe are the chemicals in sunscreen? A pharmacology expert explains

~	Control fire and ferals in Australia’s tropical savannas to bring the small mammals back

~	Australia’s census is getting a stress test – keeping it going is good for everyone

~	China’s ‘nightmare’ youth revolution was lit by its neurotic authoritarian leader, Mao Zedong. What can we learn from it?

~	How to approach going to the cinema like a philosopher

~	Global: Caster Semenya’s Court Victory a Win for All Athletes

~	How women are trapped in years of homelessness that often begin in their teens