“If we don’t reinvent drama training to reflect the different needs of students from much more diverse backgrounds – and that includes those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds – it’s like holding the door open so that they can get in the room, then blaming them when they leave quickly because they feel uncomfortable or can’t afford to stay.” – The Stage
Author: Douglas McLennan
Critic Roger Scruton, 75
Scruton, who died after a short battle with cancer, was a controversial figure throughout his career as a right-wing philosopher. Author of The Aesthetics of Architecture and The Classical Vernacular: Architectural Principles in an Age of Nihilism, he delivered lectures and wrote extensively on his contempt for the work of modern architects and his passion for traditional architecture. – Dezeen
Is Fiction Lying?
Is fiction more like the covert violation of the liar, or like the overt violation of the ironical speaker? Unlike the liar, the fiction author doesn’t hide her untruthful intentions: they’re on the book’s cover, or announced by a library classification sticker. However, unlike in the case of irony, the fiction author’s words have their regular meaning. The apparent flouting doesn’t trigger the expected nonliteral reinterpretation of the author’s words in order to restore adherence to the maxims. – Aeon
China’s Movie Box Office Just Set New Records. But Things Are Cooling
Top-line figures obscure “hidden secrets” plaguing the film industry. Chief among these is the fact that the average occupancy rate of theaters across the country has hit a new five-year low, at a time when the movie-going of audiences in third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities — previously hailed as the driving force of future box office growth — has stagnated. -Variety
A World Without Work Sounds Fun. But Would It Be?
The challenge of a world without work isn’t just economic but political and psychological. To paraphrase the children’s author Richard Scarry: what will people do all day? You can only contemplate the world with admiration and delight for so long. – The Guardian
New Generation Of Music Copyright Lawsuits Is Having A Chilling Effect
Plaintiffs in copycat cases are largely targeting megahit songs because they’ve seen where the money is, and the increasing frequency of those court battles in headlines is causing an avalanche effect of further infringement lawsuits. – Rolling Stone
Here Is Some Of The Art That Entered Public Domain Last Week
A tour of some of the many paintings created in 1924. – Hyperallergic
Open Call: Historians Needed For Today’s Debates On Current Affairs
American Historical Association meetings aren’t known for rousing policy debates. At this year’s gathering, however, there was a sense that historians’ perspectives are sorely needed in current policy discussions — and that historians are increasingly willing to step up. – Inside Higher Ed
These Are The Ten Most-Borrowed Books At The New York Public Library
Perhaps not surprisingly, more than half are books for children or young readers. No. 1 is “The Snowy Day,” Ezra Jack Keats’s picture book that is one of the first to depict an African-American boy, which has been checked out 485,583 times. Next is Dr. Seuss’s “The Cat in the Hat” (469,650). – The New York Times
Five Ways Music Changed In The 2010s
Streaming changed the way we listened to music, and music changed in response to the way we listened. Songs got shorter, genres bled into one another, and language barriers dissolved. – BBC