Selfy Stories

Society & Culture
UCL Minds
ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanities/english/research/selfy-stories
Weekly podcast.
Reference to the self is ubiquitous in contemporary culture. But what is the self? Is it discovered or created? To what degree is it shaped by external forces and to what degree is it subject to internal control? How do the stories we tell about ourselves shape our identity? To what extent is it valid to invoke ideas of truth, sincerity, and authenticity in relation to the self? What kinds of self does literature delineate?

These are some of the questions we will be asking in this UCL podcast. In each episode, a literary scholar and a philosopher ponder how present-day literary representations of the self relate to what philosophers have to say about it. The literary focus of the first season is Outline, by Rachel Cusk; the literary focus of the second is The Years, by Annie Ernaux. In each episode, chapters or sections of these books are discussed alongside a relevant intervention in philosophy.
12 episodes  •  0 archived  •  
S2 E4
Season 2, Episode 4 – The Self in Time: Marya Schechtman
S2 E4·
Oct 23, 2025
Oct 23, 2025
41 mins
S2 E3
Season 2, Episode 3 Style and Personality: Jenefer Robinson
S2 E3·
Oct 15, 2025
Oct 15, 2025
44 mins
S1 E6
5. The Aesthetic Self: James Lewis
S1 E6·
Jun 11, 2025
Jun 11, 2025
43 mins
S1 E5
4. The Ethics of Attention: Iris Murdoch
S1 E5·
Jun 4, 2025
Jun 4, 2025
43 mins
S1 E4
3. The Ethics of Authenticity: Charles Taylor
S1 E4·
May 28, 2025
May 28, 2025
37 mins
S1 E3
2. From Sincerity to Authenticity: Bernard Williams
S1 E3·
May 21, 2025
May 21, 2025
49 mins