The Institute of English Studies

I expected to do plenty of reading during the lockdown, but I couldn’t have anticipated that much of it would involve A-Level set texts.

With roughly one third of the world’s population currently living under lockdown, 2020 has already brought a greater simultaneous disruption to people’s lives than most of us can remember. Stuck inside our homes for the best part of the day, those of us who are not “essential workers” have had the rhythms of our lives completely altered.

We had just started our annual History of Books and Reading seminar series on the theme of ‘Reading and Wellbeing’ when the COVID-19 pandemic broke. In the space of two months, lives have been turned upside down and our most natural instincts suppressed.

Has my reading changed under lockdown? Four or five weeks ago, I might have said yes, I’m reading the kind of books I read on holiday.

As a researcher of medieval manuscripts, I am very interested in the actual process of making manuscripts. Since attending Patricia Lovett’s illumination class several years ago, I have become increasingly immersed in creating manuscripts traditionally

The closure of libraries, archives, and university buildings across Europe in March 2020 has had an obvious impact on accessing resources for many researchers, and changed the way we work. There has been a significant switch to digital and online work because of the paucity of physical materials.

I wonder how many millennials right now are relistening to the inimitable Stephen Fry recordings of the Harry Potter series? I know of at least half a dozen. For many of my friends those audiobooks are synonymous with comfort; the literary equivalent of making yourself a mug of hot Ribena

How did you hear about the IES? I used to work there. Oh. Yeah. Like, for seven years. So you're not exactly an unbiased opinion are you? Nope. Lots of bias here. Bias in...a good way? I worked in administration at the IES and that experience did not make me want to...

As a brand new PhD student in London, one of the best ways to meet lots of new people in a casual setting in one’s first term is, of course, the time-honoured tradition of the institutional Christmas party…