CLIL: Speaking of Literature 7 (Ideas)

Mythologies by Roland Barthes (1972)

Witty and sophisticated studies of contemporary myth-making. Barthes gets under the surface of the meanings of the things which surround us.

Orientalism by Edward Said (1978)

Said argues that romanticised western representations of Arab culture are political and condescending.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962)

This account of the effects of pesticides on the environment launched the environmental movement in the US and led to a ban on the pesticide DDT.

The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock (1979)

Lovelock's argument that once life is established on a planet, it engineers conditions for its continued survival, revolutionised our perception of our place in the scheme of things

Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt (1963)

Arendt's reports on the trial of Adolf Eichmann, the brains behind the logistics of the Holocaust, and explores the psychological and sociological mechanisms of the Holocaust. She is shocked by the banality of evil: Eichmann emerges as a conscientious and slightly obtuse paper-pusher rather than a monster.

An Image of Africa by Chinua Achebe (1975)

Achebe challenges western cultural imperialism in his argument that Heart of Darkness is a racist novel, which deprives its African characters of humanity

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (1938)

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (1938) Orwell's clear-eyed account of his experiences in Spain offers a portrait of confusion and betrayal during the Spanish civil war between the Fascists (backed by Nazi Germany) and the Republicans (backed by the democratic international community).

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (1947)

Published by her father after the war, this wonderfully written account of the family's hidden life helped to shape the post-war narrative of the Holocaust.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn (1962)

This book is a major influence on contemporary thinking: it argues that real progress in science does not happen through gradual and linear accretion of fact and data, but through radical reinterpretations (paradigm shifts) in our thinking.

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (1949)

De Beauvoir examines what it means to be a woman, and how female identity has been defined with reference to men throughout history.

Gender Trouble by Judith Butler (1990)

This is one of the important texts of queer theory. Butler presents a sophisticated critique of feminism. Categories such as sex or gender are not essentialist (absolute) but "performative" (caused by culturally influenced acts) and open to reinterpretation.

Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman (1988)

Chomsky argues that corporate media present a distorted picture of the world, so as to maximise their profits.

The Character of Physical Law by Richard Feynmann (1965)

An elegant exploration of physical theories from one of the 20th century's greatest theoreticians.

The Double Helix by James Watson (1968)

James Watson's personal account of how he and Francis Crick cracked the structure of DNA.

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (1976)

Dawkins launches a revolution in biology with the suggestion that evolution is best seen from the perspective of the gene, rather than the organism.

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (1929)

Woolf's extended essay argues for both a literal and metaphorical space for women writers within a male-dominated literary tradition.

The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1973)

This analysis of incarceration in the Soviet Union, including the author's own experiences as a zek, called into question the moral foundations of the USSR.

A Theory of Justice by John Rawls (1971, 1975)

This book argues that the correct principles of justice are those that would be agreed to by free and rational persons, placed in the 'original position' behind a veil of ignorance: not knowing their own place in society; their class, race, or sex; their abilities, etc.