Follow Steven Schwartz Vale J D Salinger
Written by Steven Schwartz on February 1st, 2010
“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into [...]
Academics in the land of the free
Written by Steven Schwartz on January 12th, 2010
A couple of years ago the topic at the Macquarie University Vice-Chancellor’s Debate was ‘freedom of speech has its limits’. Dr Anne Summers, leading the team arguing against the proposition, said freedom of speech was an essential pillar of our democratic political system and threats to that freedom should be vigorously challenged whenever they [...]
More is good for the soul
Written by Steven Schwartz on October 14th, 2009
Tony Cousins of the Macquarie University Department of English recently sent me a copy of his new book, A Companion to Thomas More, which he edited with Damian Grace.
Everyone knows the often-quoted story. King Henry VIII wanted a divorce so he could marry his mistress and produce an heir to the throne. Thomas More [...]
What the Dickens
Written by Steven Schwartz on September 30th, 2009
The teacher was waxing enthusiastic about Charles Dickens to a class of high school students. Clutching an 1850 copy of David Copperfield, he was telling them that for Victorian readers, Dickens’s writing generated trends and crazes, much as their own TV shows did for them today.
Then a hand shot up and the question came: “But [...]
No book burning planned here
Written by Steven Schwartz on August 26th, 2009
According to an article in a recent edition of the Macquarie University student magazine, Grapeshot (Issue 7, August 24, p10) the university administration is engaged in a “war on reading” and there is “no question” that this will culminate in a bonfire of the books.
How does the author reach this apocalyptic conclusion? Believe it or [...]
Read all about it
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 16th, 2009
Information is formless. You don’t need a DVD to watch a movie nor do you need a CD to listen to music. All you need is access to the right information. This information can be streamed over the internet and viewed or listened to on your computer, your ipod or your TV.
The same is true [...]
From page turner to screen scroller
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 12th, 2009
My post on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to ditch California state school text books and replace them with digital readers seems to have chimed with the Zeitgeist.
No sooner had it gone live than up popped a compelling article in the latest Chronicle of Higher Education examining the best format in which to read a Charles [...]
