In this episode, we explore how two monumental dramatic traditions—Greek tragedy and Shakespearean tragedy—shape our understanding of human suffering, moral downfall, and the architecture of dramatic storytelling. We begin with the classical Greek stage, where the three unities imposed structural discipline, where violence was never shown but narrated through solemn messenger speeches, and where the tragic hero was often crushed by fate, divine order, or the sin of hubris.

We then move to the Elizabethan stage, where Shakespeare opens the dramatic frame—expanding time, multiplying locations, adding subplots, and infusing even the darkest narratives with moments of humour and humanity. Shakespeare brings violence onto the stage, not merely as spectacle, but as part of character psychology and dramatic realism. His tragic figures—Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, Lear—fall not because the gods decree it, but because their own choices, flaws, and desires drive them toward catastrophe.

Along the way, we observe how classical principles such as hamartia, peripeteia, and catharsis travel across centuries, reshaped by Shakespeare into a more flexible, deeply interiorised theatre of human emotion. Together, these contrasting forms reveal how tragedy evolves not only as a dramatic genre but also as a mirror of shifting conceptions of destiny, responsibility, and the human condition.

This episode explores how English has travelled far beyond its geographical origins, transforming into a richly varied global phenomenon. We examine key theoretical frameworks such as Braj Kachru’s Three Circles Model and Edgar Schneider’s Dynamic Model, which together illuminate how new Englishes emerge, localise, stabilise, and gain legitimacy in postcolonial and multilingual contexts. The conversation also considers English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), foregrounding the real priorities of international communication—mutual intelligibility, pragmatic clarity, and cooperation—rather than strict allegiance to native-speaker norms.

Beyond the structural and historical dimensions, this episode confronts the sociopolitical realities of English: how linguistic hierarchies influence identity, power, academic publishing, and access to knowledge. We discuss questions of linguistic justice, the implicit biases that affect non-native scholars, and the ethical responsibilities of global academia. The episode closes with an engaging look at bilingualism and bicultural identity, including research on Cantonese–English speakers that demonstrates how code-switching can reflect confidence, fluid identity, and cultural belonging.

Narratology: The Science of Storytelling
Discover how stories really work. In this episode, we dive into the fascinating field of narratology — the humanities discipline that examines the logic, structure, and mechanics of narrative representation. Beginning with classical structuralist narratology of the 1960s, we explore the foundational distinction between story (what is told) and discourse (how it’s said), drawing on influential frameworks such as Gérard Genette’s theory of narrative time, focalization, and narrative voice.

But narratology didn’t stop there. We journey into the vibrant world of post-classical narratology, where storytelling is examined through feminist, cognitive, rhetorical, and cross-media lenses — extending beyond literature into film, law, digital media, drama, and everyday communication.

Whether you’re a student of literature, a curious thinker, a teacher, or a lifelong storyteller, this episode offers a deep yet accessible look at the principles that shape how stories are crafted — and how they shape us.

In this episode, we journey through the evolution of Magical Realism—from its origins in German art criticism with Franz Roh in 1925 to its transformation into a primary literary mode in the hands of Latin American masters like Alejo Carpentier and Gabriel García Márquez.

We explore how magical realism blends the ordinary and the extraordinary—where supernatural elements exist naturally within realistic settings—and how this stylistic choice becomes a powerful form of cultural expression, political commentary, and historical storytelling.

From One Hundred Years of Solitude to Midnight’s Children, we examine how writers across geographies—particularly in Latin America, Europe, and India—use magical realism to challenge colonial narratives, question official history, and illuminate lived reality.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between the fantastic, the marvellous, and magical realism

• How “marvellous reality” differs from “magic”

• Why readers instinctively accept the impossible in a believable world

• Key works and authors that shaped the genre across continents

• How postcolonial writers, including Salman Rushdie, have adapted the genre’s techniques

Whether you are a literature student, UGC NET aspirant, writer, or a curious reader, this episode will deepen your understanding of magical realism as not just a literary technique—but a worldview and cultural lens.

In this episode, we explore Cognitive Linguistics, a powerful approach that views language not as an autonomous system of rules, but as a window into human cognition. Cognitive Linguistics connects linguistics with cognitive science, psychology, and the study of the human mind, asking one fundamental question: how does language reflect the way we think?

We break down key ideas, including:

• Prototype Theory — why categories are not binary but have graded best examples

• Frame Semantics — how words activate entire mental structures

• Cognitive Grammar — language as conceptualisation

• Conceptual Metaphor Theory — how thought itself is structured metaphorically

• Conceptual Blending — how the mind combines concepts to generate meaning

You’ll also learn how CL has influenced areas such as language teaching, translation, literary interpretation, worldview analysis, and even modern AI language models.

This episode is especially valuable for:
✔ Linguistics students
✔ BA/MA English learners
✔ UGC-NET English aspirants
✔ Educators and researchers
✔ Anyone curious about how the brain processes language

Join me as we uncover how language reflects the workings of the human mind — and how understanding these cognitive mechanisms can deepen our mastery of communication, meaning, and interpretation.

This episode offers an in-depth examination of Jacques Derrida's deconstruction, delving into its methodological and philosophical foundations. The core principles of deconstruction are explained through Derrida's critiques of logocentrism—the prioritisation of speech and presence over writing—and the hierarchical binary oppositions embedded in Western metaphysics. The episode also details deconstruction's intellectual lineage, particularly its relationship with the work of Nietzsche, Husserl, and Heidegger. It introduces Derrida's neologism, "differance," which accounts for both temporal deferral and spatial difference in meaning. Furthermore, the episode covers practical applications and critiques of deconstruction, including its engagement with feminist theory and its confrontation with traditional logical and semantic theories.

This episode explores the Marxist concept of base and superstructure, defining the base as the economic mode of production and the superstructure as the non-economic institutions, culture, and ideologies of a society, with the base essentially determining the superstructure. The episode applies this theory to literary criticism, using a short story to examine class distinctions and the workings of bourgeois ideology. Another significant text, by Louis Althusser, expands on the superstructure by introducing the concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), such as the educational and religious systems, which function predominantly by ideology to ensure the reproduction of the relations of production. Conversely, it several criticisms of traditional Marxism, arguing that modern capitalism is less exploitative, the class structure is more complex than a simple binary, and the superstructure is too large to be entirely controlled by the ruling class, challenging the direct correlation proposed by the original base-superstructure model. this episode examines the foundational principles, complexity, applications, and critiques surrounding this core Marxist framework for understanding society and its dominant ideologies.

This episode offers a comprehensive overview of two closely related literary theories: Practical Criticism and New Criticism, detailing their origins, core tenets, and differences. Practical Criticism, pioneered by I. A. Richards in Britain during the 1920s, focused on a close reading of poetry to analyse the text's language, imagery, and structure without external context, treating the poem as a stimulus for the reader's psychological experience. New Criticism, emerging primarily in the United States in the 1930s and 40s with figures like Cleanth Brooks and John Crowe Ransom, developed out of this British movement. Still, it formalised the approach into a broader, systematic theory that applied to all literary genres. A central tenet of New Criticism is the concept of textual autonomy, which asserts that a literary work is a self-contained aesthetic object whose objective meaning is found internally, leading to concepts such as the Intentional Fallacy and the Affective Fallacy. While both movements champion close reading and the text itself over biographical or historical context, Practical Criticism is often described as a teaching method concerned with the reader's direct experience, while New Criticism is a formal theory aimed at establishing a unified, objective interpretation of the work's structure.

This episode offers a comprehensive overview of ecocriticism, an interdisciplinary field that explores the relationship between literature and the environment. The episode traces the field's origins, noting its emergence in the late 20th century as a response to growing environmental crises, and defines it as the study of how texts address nature, ecological concerns, and the ethical implications of human-nature interactions. It also discusses the various branches of ecocriticism, such as ecofeminism and postcolonial ecocriticism, and distinguishes between the anthropocentric (human-centred) and ecocentric (nature-centred) viewpoints. Furthermore, the episode delves into a significant subgenre known as climate fiction (cli-fi), offering multiple examples of applying an ecocritical lens to classic and contemporary literary works. One source, in particular, focuses on how author Amitav Ghosh addresses environmental degradation and climate change. Collectively, the sources emphasise that ecocriticism serves as a crucial tool for fostering environmental awareness and advocating for sustainability and social change.

This episode offers guidance and commentary on the process of academic research and writing, particularly within the humanities. This episode also outlines the mechanical and structural requirements for formal papers, including the MLA formatting guidelines for margins, headings, and the placement of a Works Cited list. It also focuses on the research methodology, providing a comprehensive overview of the steps involved in a project, from topic selection and literature reviews to various qualitative and quantitative methods, including surveys and textual analysis. The episode scrutinises literary criticism, explicitly contrasting the historical and persistent practice of "close reading" with newer "distant reading" methods favoured by digital humanities scholars, debating the value and scope of each approach. Finally, there is practical instruction on specific components of academic writing, including the structure and purpose of an abstract, as well as a description of the peer review process for journal submissions.