Sophie Ward – författare

Shakespeare is revered as the greatest writer in the English language, yet education reform in the English-speaking world is informed primarily by the ‘market order’, rather than the kind of humanism we might associate with Shakespeare. By considering Shakespeare’s dramatisation of the principles that inform neoliberalism, this book makes an important contribution to the debate on the moral failure of the market mechanism in schools and higher education systems that have adopted neoliberal policy.

The utility of Shakespeare’s plays as a means to explore our present socio-economic system has long been acknowledged. As a Renaissance playwright located at the junction between feudalism and capitalism, Shakespeare was uniquely positioned to reflect upon the nascent market order. As a result, this book utilises six of his plays to assess the impact of neoliberalism on education. Drawing from examples of education policy from the UK and North America, it demonstrates that the alleged innovation of the market order is premised upon ideas that are rejected by Shakespeare, and it advocates Shakespeare’s humanism as a corrective to the failings of neoliberal education policy.

Using Shakespeare''s Plays to Explore Education Policy Today will be of key interest to researchers, academics and students in the fields of education policy and politics, educational reform, social and economic theory, English literature and Shakespeare.

Shakespeare is revered as the greatest writer in the English language, yet education reform in the English-speaking world is informed primarily by the ‘market order’, rather than the kind of humanism we might associate with Shakespeare. By considering Shakespeare’s dramatisation of the principles that inform neoliberalism, this book makes an important contribution to the debate on the moral failure of the market mechanism in schools and higher education systems that have adopted neoliberal policy.

The utility of Shakespeare’s plays as a means to explore our present socio-economic system has long been acknowledged. As a Renaissance playwright located at the junction between feudalism and capitalism, Shakespeare was uniquely positioned to reflect upon the nascent market order. As a result, this book utilises six of his plays to assess the impact of neoliberalism on education. Drawing from examples of education policy from the UK and North America, it demonstrates that the alleged innovation of the market order is premised upon ideas that are rejected by Shakespeare, and it advocates Shakespeare’s humanism as a corrective to the failings of neoliberal education policy.

Using Shakespeare''s Plays to Explore Education Policy Today will be of key interest to researchers, academics and students in the fields of education policy and politics, educational reform, social and economic theory, English literature and Shakespeare.

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2020Longlisted for the Desmond Eliot Prize 2020Longlisted for the Polari Prize 2021Featuring on BBC 2''s Between the Covers''Sophie Ward is a dazzling talent who writes like a modern-day F Scott Fitzgerald'' Elizabeth Day, author of How To Fail''An act of such breath-taking imagination, daring and detail that the journey we are on is believable and the debate in the mind non-stop. There are elements of Doris Lessing in the writing - a huge emerging talent here'' Fiona Shaw''A towering literary achievement'' Ruth Hogan, author of The Keeper of Lost ThingsRachel and Eliza are planning their future together. One night in bed Rachel wakes up terrified and tells Eliza that an ant has crawled into her eye and is stuck there. Rachel is certain; Eliza, a scientist, is sceptical. Suddenly their entire relationship is called into question. What follows is a uniquely imaginitive sequence of interlinked stories ranging across time, place and perspective to form a sparkling philosophical tale of love, lost and found across the universe.

''A compelling, fast-moving narrative . . . delivers real emotional impact'' Telegraph''A literary provocateur'' GuardianSHORTLISTED for the POLARI PRIZE 2023WINNER of DIVA Magazine''s 2023 ''Author of the Year'' AwardIsobel lives an isolated life in North London, where she works at a nearby library. She feels safe, so long as she keeps to her routines and doesn''t let her thoughts stray too far into the past. But a newspaper photograph of a missing local schoolgirl and a letter from her old teacher send her spiralling and bring back the trauma of what happened years ago, when she was a pupil at The Schoolhouse. The Schoolhouse was a 1970s experimental school where Isobel''s days were a dark interplay of freedom and adventure, violence and fear. The only record of what happened there lies in the pages of her teenage diary. The Schoolhouse taught Isobel that some truths must never be revealed, but as police investigating the missing girl start to ask uncomfortable questions, she realises the truth is coming for her - and it will put her, and everyone she has tried to protect, at risk.From the Booker Prize-longlisted author of Love and Other Thought Experiments comes a masterful and gripping thriller about truth, silence, and the dead weight of the past.

''Ward fleshes out her real-life characters with complete conviction, deftly threading their own words into the fabric of her fiction'' FINANCIAL TIMES''A captivating invocation of a moment of revolutionary zeal and hope . . . a prescient reminder of the importance of testimony in the fight for justice, of individual stories'' IRISH EXAMINER

''Our Better Natures is a stunning meditation on hope, its fragile insistence, driven by Sophie Ward''s singular wit and astounding philosophical playfulness. It cements Ward''s place as one of our most inventive, inquisitive, & alert novelists working today'' MARGOT DOUAIHY

''Our Better Natures is potent and beguiling. It makes one see with a better eye'' LAURA CARLIN

''Our Better Natures is an absolute marvel - a marvel of ideas, full of intellectual delights; a marvel of construction that propels us toward the most unexpected - and inevitable - outcomes; a marvel of writing, elegant, poised, wise, achingly beautiful at times, but never pulling focus from the stories of the three women and the people around them; and a marvel of compassion. A truly magnificent creation'' NANCY CRANEAmid the chaos and political upheaval of 1970s America, three very different women must accept the world as it is, or act to change it.

Phyllis Patterson is a housewife in White Plains, Illinois. Her son Jimmy returns to the family home from Vietnam with a Korean wife and two children. Blindsided by these new additions, particularly her curious granddaughter, Soozie, Phyllis''s small-town world is turned upside down in more ways than she could have ever imagined.

Andrea Dworkin is an activist in Amsterdam. Having fled her abusive husband and their life together, she finds herself desperate for answers, for herself and the world around her. An encounter with Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault at their infamous Dutch debate provokes her burgeoning independence. Returning to America she will embody a revolution, no matter the price.

Muriel Rukeyser is a poet in New York. Despite protestations from her lover, Monica, Muriel insists on campaigning against injustice, using her words as weapons and pushing her body to its limits. In this era of political unrest, Muriel''s life stands as a testament to the possibility of creative resistance.

A single postcard from an imprisoned writer thousands of miles away will unite these women in the fight for a world they believe in.

Full of compassion, imagination and rich storytelling, Our Better Natures is a powerful novel about language, connection and freedom.

A fascinating exploration of the psychology behind the seven deadly sins

Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?

Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a humorous and compelling look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins. Rolling with the order established by Pope Gregory the Great, first up is pride, followed by greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and (finally) lazy old sloth.

With contributions from leading experts in the field, including geneticist, writer and presenter Dr Adam Rutherford, Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and sexologist Dr Anand Patel, this is a fascinating, funny and revelatory series that explores what makes us who we are and busts some myths along the way.

Pride - How can we have confidence without veering into arrogance? Pride can be motivating and self-affirming. But then there’s the ugly side: thinking you’re better than others. How can we have one without the other?

Greed - Why do we want money, land, material things – and ultimately control, status, dominance, power? And can we be greedy for the good?

Lust - Lust is crucial to the continuation of our species, but it''s also a form of neurochemical madness that can lead us astray. How can we best live alongside our drives and desires?

Envy - Is the grass always greener? Can we want what others have without being riddled with resentment?

Gluttony - Why do we crave what we crave? The odd bit of indulgence isn''t such a bad thing - but sometimes we overdo it. We short circuit our dopamine reward systems, and before we know it, we can''t stop. Can we control our cravings? And when does a little bit of binging become too much?

Wrath - Things can get pretty ugly when our blood starts to boil. Some of us are quick to flip, some of us brood, and some of us push down our anger. Anger is a motivator, a driver for change in the face of a perceived injustice. The question is, how are you going to act on it?

Sloth - Is there a place for rest in today’s hyper-productive world? Our brains and bodies need rest in order to recharge. But too much sloth, and you can get stuck in a downward spiral of apathy or depression. How can we get the balance right?

Join Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward on a fascinating journey through what it means to be human in today’s modern world.

Written and presented by Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward

Produced by Becky Ripley

First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21 November 2023 – 2 January 2024

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