Dr. Katie McGettigan on “What Counts as a Classic?”

The video, made for Audible, discusses readers' expectations of classic literature.

Dr Katie McGettigan filmed a video essay for Audible UK, “What Counts as a Classic?”. Filmed in Royal Holloway’s historic Founders Building, the video explores readers' expectations of classic literature, how nineteenth-century book publishers invented the idea of the “classic novel,” and how social and political factors – as well as literary merit – have determined which titles are preserved as classics, and which have been forgotten. Dr McGettigan also considers the problems that readers might face when encountering classic texts from the past, and how we can use classics to confront difficult histories, as well as to celebrate writing that has endured across time.

The video can be found here on the Audible UK YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYZIoT5SfVY.