Jeanette Winterson to take up writing professorship at Manchester University
Novelist best known for Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit will teach undergraduates and MA students in city of her birth
All in a Don’s Day by Mary Beard – review
Frances Spalding dips into Mary Beard's entertaining blog
An Australian canon will only damage Australian literature
Setting out precisely which books should be taught, and thereby defining a single national literature, is liable to occlude its true diversity
Will Self to become a professor of contemporary thought
Maverick writer will be teaching students at Brunel University's school of the arts and its school of the social sciences
Academic ebooks can succeed but publishers must play their part
The era of academic ebooks is imminent, says Jonathan Wolff, but there are still improvements to be made
What Are Universities For? by Stefan Collini – review
Stefan Collini's defence of universities is heavy on hand-wringing and light on real answers, writes Peter Conrad
John House obituary
International expert on impressionism who became a professor at the Courtauld Institute
First ever crime writing MA launched
London's City University says creation of course is in response to student demand
Anyone for Quidditch? Harry Potter game kicks off at Oxford
The game that enthralled students at Hogwarts is starting to stir an interest at Oxford University
In Defence of Learning edited by Shula Marks et al – review
Stefan Collini on the fascinating history of refugee scholars
The law of the included middle
I'm a firm believer in high literary and educational standards, and I feel strongly that they are empty values. Where's the problem?
What we should take from the QR Markham plagiarism scandal
Stuart Kelly: The brouhaha over Markham's wholesale cribbing of other writers' work is an instructive reminder of how rarely 'original writing' actually is
Is the UEA creative writing course still the best?
Costa book award first novel nominee Christie Watson is the latest graduate of the course to find success. What do they teach them in Norwich?
Jacques Berthoud obituary
Dynamic professor of English literature
Bede Rundle obituary
Philosopher in the tradition of Aristotle, Kant and Wittgenstein
Danny Dorling’s new book reveals Labour’s legacy for schools
Professor Danny Dorling has a knack for making statistics sexy, whether it's to show that Labour widened university intake, or that life is better in Barnsley than Chelsea. Martin Wainwright meets him
Anger over ‘misleading’ ranking of creative writing courses
Group of 190 authors and teachers protests at chart of US creative writing MFAs
RB McDowell obituary
Colourful historian of Ireland and stalwart of Trinity College Dublin
Writers sue US university libraries for copyright infringement
Group action challenges HathiTrust project to make available 7m digitised books
Culture Flash: exam results
Exam time and student angst have always been a rich source of creative inspiration, writes Stuart Heritage
AC Grayling’s private university is odious
Terry Eagleton: The money-grubbing dons signing up at the £18k a year New College of the Humanities are the thin edge of an ugly wedge
Richard Dawkins heads lineup at private £18,000-a-year university
Niall Ferguson and Steven Pinker also join AC Grayling's initiative but critics complain of greater inequality in education
John Grenville obituary
Holocaust refugee who became an eminent historian in Britain
Can you teach creative writing?
There has been a huge expansion in creative writing courses in the last decade, but is it something you can teach? Well-known writers give their verdicts
Mark Kinkead-Weekes obituary
English literature scholar and expert on DH Lawrence
Barry Coward obituary
Eminent historian who specialised in 17th-century Britain
Computer gamers less likely to go to university, research shows
Report by Oxford University also reveals that reading enhances the likelihood that teenagers will go on to study for a degree
Legal battles against cuts are worth fighting
Jon Robins: From tuition fees to library closures, charities and individuals are challenging in court the coalition's attempts to roll back the state
John le Carré gives his literary archive to Oxford’s Bodleian library
Manuscripts taken from storage in Cornish barn shed new light on genesis of Smiley novels
Keep the books safe
AL Kennedy: As my decorator attempts to repair the disintegrating fabric of my flat, rather more alarming signs of collapse are besetting education
Brighton Rock tours help university engage with local people
Sussex University academic's tours of Brighton's murky past have been given a boost by new film version of Graham Greene's classic novel
The Guardian rosetta: the Datablog reference guide to nearly everything
Looking for ISO country codes? This is now the place to come. We want to make it easier to map data and keep it consistent. Take a look at our reference guide to IDs, codes and names and see how you can help make it better• Get the data
Salinger: a burger-lover in the rye
Kathryn Hughes: As JD Salinger would have recognised, his letters show that Great Writers are not great all the time
Colm Tóibín takes over teaching job from Martin Amis
As Amis leaves for New York, Tóibín installed as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester
Robert Markus obituary
Medieval history scholar who helped establish the idea of Late Antiquity