Orwell on Jura

More from me earlier today on The Guardian Books blog. I’ve been reading and thinking about George Orwell in anticipation of our stay on Jura next summer and this piece is a reflection on his life there:
At this time of year, running away from the crowds, the brightly-coloured plastic decorations and the grisly return of [...]

Language and Empiricism Book Cover

The cover image for Siobhan’s forthcoming book Language and Empiricism After the Vienna Circle arrived this week and I’m especially pleased to see it because I took the photograph of the ferris wheel (Riesenrad) in Vienna. Siobhan of course is my co-editor on Key Ideas in Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language.

Costume Drama and the Western

I have a post over on The Guardian book blog contrasting the flexibility of the Western as a channel for national stories with British nineteenth-century novels and the costume dramas adapted from them:
When it comes to national narratives Americans have it easier than the British. Pick a few good-looking actors, let them grow stubble, add [...]