Beyond the Books

An LLC podcast that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen.

Series 3 - 2025

Episodes and guests

  • Meet the host minisode - Beth Price, PhD candidate in Asian Studies - released 27 May 2025
  • Episode 1 - Dr Désha Osborne, Chancellor’s Fellow in English Literature - released 30 May 2025
  • Episode 2 - Professor Paul Crosthwaite, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature - released 6 June 2025
  • Episode 3 - Dr Xuelei Huang, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies - released 27 June 2025
  • Episode 4 - Dr Charlotte Gleghorn, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Film Studies (coming soon)
Collage of black and white images associated with a podcast

In my PhD, I’m looking at magazines from Shanghai in the 1930s, specifically at how images of women were used to convey ideas of gender, social order… and were ultimately connected to colonialism. Really, what I’m interested in is the power structures that media and culture are part of and it turns out that this curiosity of how things are all connected in literatures, languages and cultures is the whole purpose of LLC.

So, whether you’re an academic already, a fellow student thinking of joining us here in LLC, or just curious as to what it is we do, join me for Series 3 of Beyond the Books.

Series 2 - 2021 to 2023

Episodes and guests

  • Meet the host minisode - Emma Aviet, PhD candidate in English Literature - released 19 March 2021
  • Episode 1 - Professor Wilson McLeod, Professor of Gaelic - released 24 January 2021
  • Episode 2 - Anna Kemball, PhD candidate in English Literature - released 25 May 2021
  • Episode 3 - Dr Youngmi Kim, Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies - released 25 August 2021
  • Episode 4 - Dr Isabel Seguí, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow - released 5 November 2021
  • Episode 5 - Bahar Fayeghi, PhD candidate in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies - released 7 March 2022
  • Episode 6 - Dr Charlotte Bosseaux, Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies - released 14 July 2022
  • Episode 7 - Professor Peter Davies, Professor of Modern German Studies - released 8 March 2023
  • Episode 8 - Dr Emanuela Patti, Lecturer in Italian - released 23 May 2023

All names and titles are correct as of the date of release

Emma Aviet, host of Series 2, preparing to edit an episode of Beyond the Books. Emma graduated in 2024 with a PhD in English Literature and now works in Projects and Engagement for the Hugo Burge Foundation.

During my time as an undergraduate, I often found myself really fascinated by and yet really afraid of academics. Although I had many questions for them, I was often too scared to speak up, thinking I’d be out of my depth. When I came to the University of Edinburgh, I realised how much these sorts of conversations can and should be encouraged.

I finally felt comfortable having real discussions not only about research, but about academia. I wanted this podcast to be a place where people can see what some of these conversations look like so that they feel encouraged to go out and have their own.

Series 1 - 2020

Host - Ellen Davis-Walker

"I never thought I’d end up studying in Edinburgh, let alone doing a PhD. When I started, it struck me that a lot of people had a similar story. We all come to research for different reasons, and in a myriad of different ways.

Every episode we sit down with a new guest to find out more about their academic journey, and how their research has changed their view of the world. When we move beyond the books, what do we have in common, and what can we learn in the process?"

Ellen is a PhD candidate in French and Francophone Studies

Photo of podcast host in studio
Ellen in the LLC studio

 

Trailer

Listen to our trailer for Beyond the Books, where host Ellen Davis-Walker introduces the podcast and explains what it's about, who she talks to in the first series (2020), and why she got involved.

Beyond the Books - Series 1: trailer

Episode 1

In this first episode of Beyond the Books, Ellen sits down with Rachel Chung, a third year PhD candidate in English Literature, to talk about Rachel's journey from Applied Maths graduate with a masters in narrative medicine, to her current research on gender, violence, and Shakespeare (especially as performed by all-women casts).

Beyond the Books - Series 1: Episode 1 - Rachel Chung

Document

Find out more about Rachel's research

Episode 2

In this second episode of Beyond the Books, recorded remotely during lockdown, Ellen talks to David Farrier, a researcher in Environmental Humanities (and Senior Lecturer in English Literature) whose latest book Footprints: in Search of Future Fossils explores what traces of present societies will persist in the deep future. David’s episode is subtitled.

Beyond the Books - Series 1: Episode 2 - David Farrier

Read our interview with David about Footprints: in Search of Future Fossils

Episode 3

Also recorded remotely during lockdown, this third episode of Beyond the Books features Ellen in conversation with Katie Hawthorne, a final year PhD student in European Theatre and German at LLC and freelance writer and reviewer for The Guardian, The Skinny, and The Stage among others. Katie’s thesis is a Comparative Study of Scottish and German Theatres and their Audiences in a Digital Age and is rapidly evolving to take into account changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The episode is subtitled.

Beyond the Books - Series 1: Episode 3 - Katie Hawthorne

Episode 4

Ellen's fourth and final episode of Beyond the Books, recorded remotely during lockdown, features Peter Dayan, Professor of Word and Music Studies and Head of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Ahead of the launch of our new MSc in Intermediality: Literature, Film and the Arts in Dialogue, the conversation centres on Peter's book 'The Music of Dada: A Lesson in Intermediality for our Times', which won the 2020 R. Gapper Book Prize. The episode is subtitled.

Beyond the Books - Series 1: Episode 4 - Peter Dayan

Acknowledgements

With special thanks to John Glendinning (LLC) and Lisa Marley (College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences) for additional technical support and En-Chi Liu (Development and Alumni) for advice. The logo for Series 3 was designed by Beth Price and Hannah Ruddy (LLC). The logo for Series 1 and 2 was designed by Ann Harrison (College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences). The theme music is taken from the track ‘ThunderBird’ by ‘Oyy’, hosted by Epidemic Sound.

Related links

Find out more about PhD study in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC)