Can these great writers and thinkers help us understand the current political mess around the world?

The world has not gone mad. It has in fact always been mad.

Michael Hauskeller, The Coversation

· Oct 09, 2019 · 05:30 pm

#MeToo: How can literature (and publishers) respond to the problems of gender and power?

It’s not just a question of whether we should engage with the writings of men who abuse power. A lot needs to be done to foster inclusivity in literature.

Jenny Bhatt

· Nov 25, 2018 · 05:30 pm

Radical nationalist or progressive philosopher? How do we engage with Aurobindo’s ideas today?

The Pondy Lit Fest, which sparked off minor debates, was held in Pondicherry, on the outskirts of which is Auroville, a settlement dedicated to his ideas.

Anu Majumdar

· Aug 22, 2018 · 05:30 pm

Ayn Rand’s dangerous ideas are becoming increasingly popular and dismissing her is not the solution

Rand’s books, which attack altruism and demonise public servants, are still selling in the millions.

Skye C Cleary, Aeon

· Jun 27, 2018 · 06:30 pm

Why Donald Trump’s policy of breaking up immigrant families is straight out of a Dickens novel

Charles Dickens wrote ‘Oliver Twist’ to point out the cruelty of the ‘New’ Poor Laws of England in the 1830s, which separated poor children from their families.

Sarah Bilston, The Conversation

· Jun 25, 2018 · 05:30 pm

Hannah Arendt famously spoke of the ‘banality of evil’. But did she miss a deeper meaning?

For many critics, it is impossible to reconcile the deeds of Nazi operative Adolph Eichmann with Arendt’s depiction of him as no more than a bland bureaucrat.

Thomas White, Aeon

· Apr 30, 2018 · 05:30 pm

Ten things Hannah Arendt said that are eerily relevant in today’s political times

One of the sharpest political thinkers of the twentieth century died on this day, December 4, 42 years ago.

Scroll Staff

· Dec 04, 2017 · 05:30 pm

Is state monopoly on violence the price to be paid for an orderly society? Two books offer answers

Two new books dismantle the idea that state violence is a measure of progress, while holding out hope for change.

Supriya Nair

· Nov 11, 2017 · 06:00 am

How literary rage arms us with a private arsenal to fight the battles that a mob cannot

What makes rage more impressive than anger, less ignoble than temper, a phenomenon more than a feeling, a force more than a caprice?

Sampurna Chattarji

· Jul 23, 2017 · 05:30 pm

How to invent a Tolkien-style language

Quenya, Sindarin, Klingon and Dothraki – there's an art to making up languages.

Dimitra Fimi, The Conversation

· Apr 12, 2016 · 03:30 pm

The possibilities with a stranger: Complete love or extreme hate

Great romances are about strangers, and so are acts of violence.

Tabish Khair

· Feb 22, 2016 · 06:30 pm