Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: New Books in Literary Studies
Episode: Tim Beasley-Murray, "Critical Games: On Play and Seriousness in Academia, Literature and Life" (Manchester UP, 2025)
Description: Which parts of life are serious, and which are a game? In Critical Games: On Play and Seriousness in Academia, Literature and Life (Manchester UP, 2025) Tim Beasley-Murray, an Associate Professor of European Thought and Culture and Vice-Dean (Innovation and Enterprise) for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at University College London, offers a series of reflections on literature, culture, universities and society as both playful and serious. The book combines close reading of key figures in contemporary literature such as Emmanuel Carrère, set alongside playful and serious reflections on literary criticism, media, and academic careers and practice. A fascinati...