I went into a research rabbit hole this fall after rereading “Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times” by Elizabeth Wayland Barber. Join me as I share some of the works I discovered. 

Young archeologist Elizabeth Wayland Barber began researching women’s contributions to early society, thinking she would write a paper, revised that to a book and then made it a life’s work. Male researchers had, for the most part, ignored findings of ephemeral fibers and families. “Women’s Work” has a deserved place on American Scientist’s list of “100 or So Books That Shaped a Century of Science.”

“Women’s work” has often meant labor traditionally seen as the domain of women, often linked to specific stereotypical roles that are viewed as inherently feminine or related to domestic responsibilities that include low or no pay. However, women and their supporters are working to evolve that, to turn ‘women’s work’ into anything a woman aspires to do. Continue reading “Literary Links: Women’s Work”

This past November, The Atlantic released an alarming article about elite college freshmen who lack the ability to read books. It turns out that many students have never received an assignment to read an entire book in their middle and high schools, but rather have studied excerpts, poems and articles. Concerned educators have cited several possible and fairly obvious explanations: smartphones, the No Child Left Behind Act, Common Core educational standards, the pandemic, an increase in focus on practical employment and declining enrollment in the humanities.

Top universities and colleges are adjusting as best they can without compromising educational excellence. For example, Andrew Delbanco, a Columbia University American studies professor, has modified a seminar to emphasize short pieces of writing rather than longer classic literature. Instead of powering through “Moby-Dick,” students now examine “Billy Budd” and “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” In support of such a pivot, Columbia’s literature humanities chair, Joseph Howley, maintains that he’d rather students skip over some longer classics if they can benefit from focusing on shorter works in greater depth.

The idea that short stories might offer an option warrants follow-up. In addition to teaching necessary skills such as critical analysis and empathy that can lead readers to tackling longer, more ambitious pieces of literature, short stories are valuable on their own merits. Short stories allow readers to explore new genres, perspectives and authors, especially collections of stories including different authors.

To that end, here are a few fascinating and unique anthologies perfect for stretching the mind in smaller doses: Continue reading “Literary Links: Exploring Short Stories”