Broadway musical scholar revives ‘forgotten’ gem about celebrity Sheffield lecturer’s production of Hazel Flagg with its Jule Styne score combines research, teaching and outreach By Matthew Reisz 18 December
Language degrees: when the words are not enough Seminar debates conflicting trends in the discipline as industry figures look beyond fluency By Matthew Reisz 11 December
Where all the stage is a world for scholars to explore The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe offers researchers insights into how Jacobean plays were received By Matthew Reisz 4 December
University life: which works of fiction are most telling? John Sutherland, Sarah Churchwell and others pick books that capture truths about the sector 20 November
Sarah Churchwell: why the humanities matter Ahead of the Being Human festival, the professor of American literature considers their importance By Sarah Churchwell 13 November
‘Lost Gospel’ scholars claim manuscript reveals 'a married Jesus' A new book claims to ‘fill in the 30-year gap in Jesus’ resumé’ By Matthew Reisz 12 November
Student book-collecting prizes celebrate creative classification Anthony Davis, the sponsor of prizes at Oxford and the University of London, explains why this form of bibliophilia must be encouraged By Matthew Reisz 30 October
Liberal arts builds momentum in the UK Symposium hears of efforts to build broad-based humanities study on British soil By Matthew Reisz 23 October
Intellectual cowardice Scholarship can be a fearsome activity, as Chris Walsh discovered when he set out to investigate the figure of the coward 16 October
Liberal education: preparing students for life’s journey With utilitarianism on the rise, we must reaffirm the value of the liberal arts, says Frank Furedi 9 October
Happy valley for techies, less so for others Alan Ryan on fears that Silicon dreams and start-ups might leave humanities in the dark 2 October
Imaginations: University of Essex’s sociological half-century Eminent sociologist Ken Plummer captures 50 tales of a groundbreaking department By Matthew Reisz 2 October
History: the key to decoding big data The academic discipline is invaluable in detecting and debunking myths about the past and future, say Jo Guldi and David Armitage 2 October
Shakespeare scholar disputes decision-reversal by journal Memoria di Shakespeare’s new editors backtrack on acceptance of Oxfordian academic’s paper By Matthew Reisz 11 September
Battle scars: Did Achilles suffer from PTSD? A historian mulls modern and ancient soldiers’ susceptibility to PTSD By Matthew Reisz 4 September
Alliances overseas can ‘secure future’ for languages Lack of succession planning is eroding research base, says head of Institute of Modern Languages Research By Matthew Reisz 28 August
David Blanchflower on degree trends that follow the money The economist urges the UK to study a shift to subjects that lead to highly paid jobs 28 August
King’s College London criticised for closing theology programmes Two leading theologians have criticised the closure of several postgraduate theology and ministry programmes at King’s By Jack Grove 23 August
Cardiff University unveils Collingwood Collection Archive of Lake Distrtict dynasty also ‘invaluable’ for scholars studying John Ruskin and Arthur Ransome By Matthew Reisz 7 August
Oxford to Yemen: from literary scholar to tribal adviser Elisabeth Kendall’s work on jihadist poetry led to tribespeople seeking her expertise By Matthew Reisz 31 July
Scatological art difficult to pass Student claims University of the Arts London failed her work because it was not ‘clean, saleable art’ By Chris Parr 31 July
Humanities research ‘needs firm foundations’ The importance of a durable European study infrastructure is explored in the book Facing the Future By Matthew Reisz 31 July
British Academy announces 42 new fellows More than 40 academics have been newly elected as fellows of the British Academy By Holly Else 18 July
Leviathan: an adventure in sound and space An academic staging an immersive production of Moby-Dick discusses research and art By Matthew Reisz 17 July
Speaking for others: tensions in post-colonial studies Lucinda Newns confronts frictions within the discipline and her own unease at a lack of non-white voices 17 July
University role ‘crucial’ for languages recovery Universities have a crucial role to play in “a national recovery programme” to improve the level of Britain’s linguistic skills. By Matthew Reisz 14 July
Paul de Man: the fall and the fallout Is it time to stop picking over the scandals of Paul de Man’s life and focus on his critical work? asks Martin McQuillan 10 July
University still a bastion of social elite, says Hefce official At a British Academy debate, David Sweeney urges the sector to focus on producing graduates who will engage with society By Matthew Reisz 3 July
Switch to digital aims to bring the arts out of the Indiana Jones storeroom Digital literacy can enhance humanities research as well as the skill set of graduates By Jon Marcus 3 July
Collective memory and the First World War A. W. Purdue on the battles among academics over the conflict’s place in history 26 June
Tentacles: the new fangs (and teaching tool) Sea monsters are inspiring new critical theory and can even be a useful tool in the seminar room, says Roger Luckhurst 19 June
Happily ever after? Which fairy tale is the greatest of them all? Sally Feldman on enduring themes 12 June
Classics example: any answers for modern languages’ decline? Seminar on strategies to tackle parlous state of discipline in UK told to note recent recovery of Classics By Matthew Reisz 12 June
All literary festivals great and small Christopher Bigsby on the hardships and high points of life under canvas 5 June
Technology’s value to humanities must be made clearer Melissa Terras to call for ‘better communication’ of benefits By Chris Parr 26 May
The tongue-tied Britons abroad Ignorance of one’s native English means other languages and cultures are a closed book, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto 22 May
Bart Moore-Gilbert: the truth about my father A postcolonial scholar began a troubling quest after learning about his father’s role in counterinsurgency in India By Matthew Reisz 22 May
Hobsbawm’s contribution to academia celebrated The continuing impact of historian Eric Hobsbawm was celebrated at a major conference held this week. By Matthew Reisz 3 May
The Secret Academic Diary of Emma Rees Emma Rees on the self-absorbed musings of Adrian Mole, the much-loved creation of the late Sue Townsend 24 April
Philosophy is dead?white – and dead wrong Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman on the subject’s colour line 20 March
John Carey: the constant reader Despite the snobbery of Oxford, a young literary scholar found the liberty to know and speak his mind By Matthew Reisz 13 March
Katie Hopkins and Will Self debate value of arts degrees A debate on whether “an arts degree is a waste of time and money” saw the motion decisively defeated. By Matthew Reisz 9 March
Hit the road, philosophy Philosophers need to follow Socrates’ example and get back among the people, say John Kaag and David O’Hara 20 February
British Academy booklet shows how society can 'prosper wisely' A new British Academy booklet aims to show how the social sciences and humanities can help build a society which combines prosperity with wisdom. By Matthew Reisz 16 February
A first-person history of mental illness Historian Barbara Taylor’s account of the asylum system is woven into a memoir of breakdown and recovery aided by a ‘safe haven’, analysis and friendship By Matthew Reisz 6 February
Transplant inspires siblings’ Bloodlines project Milton and Alex Mermikides’ AHRC-funded work fuses music, dance and medicine By Matthew Reisz 30 January
AHRC grants help scholars and firms to serve up archives Food, feminism and assumptions about asylum seekers among areas explored in eight AHRC-backed projects By Matthew Reisz 30 January
Costa book prize: lecturer Nathan Filer wins A former psychiatric nurse who is now a lecturer in creative writing has been awarded the Costa Book of the Year award for his debut novel. By Matthew Reisz 29 January
Inspiring books show humanities’ value, say scholars Eminent academics restate worth of ‘knowledge for its own sake’ By Matthew Reisz 23 January
MLA conference: blizzard of ice and ideas Frigid weather fails to dampen enthusiasm at the MLA conference, finds Robert Eaglestone 16 January
Analysis: the subjects favoured and forsaken by students over 15 years How has 16 years of growth in enrolment affected the fortunes of different disciplines? By David Matthews 16 January
Soft Estate: Edward Chell project on landscapes around motorways The neglected, inaccessible land beside arterial routes is the subject of an exhibition and book By Matthew Reisz 2 January
Humanities must lead on European stage or risk being left behind Oxford scholar says discipline can play vital role in meeting biggest challenges By Matthew Reisz 12 December
Art and science: ‘two cultures’ with shared values Forcing students to choose sides leaves them, and society, poorer, says Christopher Bigsby 12 December
Horizon 2020 provisions for humanities criticised Lack of interdisciplinarity and pared funds a cause of concern for social sciences By Holly Else 5 December
Mental health and social science explored in new booklet A new booklet has been launched on the role of social science in promoting “mental wellbeing”. ? By Matthew Reisz 30 November
Belinda Jack on cliché, the nemesis of thought Academics must counter ‘verbicide’, which constrains expression, to foster new ideas and ways of seeing 28 November
Still relevant: The Making of the English Working Class Robert Colls on why E. P. Thompson’s landmark book belongs on more university reading lists 21 November
Sketchy information: illustration as a tool of understanding Symposium considers drawing’s role in refining and communicating knowledge, from geology to surgery to unicorns By Matthew Reisz 14 November
Austen’s powers revisited Sally?Feldman welcomes a modern reimagining of the incomparable Jane 7 November