Paula Marantz Cohen

Paula Marantz Cohen’s new book, Of Human Kindness: What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Empathy, will be published next month.

Injured Merit

How a righteous sense of grievance can lead to a better world

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Thursday, January 28, 2021

This Side of Paradise

Aging has its rewards until it doesn’t. I am ready to contemplate the end but not, yet, to give in to it

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Monday, December 03, 2018

On Hospitality

Perspectives on borders and border-crossing

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Don’t Race Through a Great Book

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Monday, December 26, 2016

Shylock, My Students, and Me

What I’ve learned from 30 years of teaching The Merchant of Venice

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Don’t Race Through a Great Book

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Monday, April 11, 2016

The Trouble at Yale

Why an intellectual space requires a safe space

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Learning and its Limits

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Crash-Course America

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tri-teaching

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, June 19, 2012

What Makes a Good Enough Education?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Changing Places

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Critical But Kind

The importance of civility in reviewing

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Writing Addiction

The therapy of putting pen to paper

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Christie and Obama’s Romantic Plot

The appeal of enemies who become friends

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Vocational Crisis

Slow down and take time to discover your life’s work

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Teaching and Suspense

What do potboilers and classrooms have in common?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Mother-in-Law Studies

In which she finds fault and expects dinner

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Going Non-Native

How reading flawed English can make us better writers

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Teachers of the World, Unite!

How Marx and Engels can bring a class to life

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Teaching Cure

What teachers can learn from therapists

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 21, 2013

It’s Academic

Colleges need to rethink their priorities

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Keeping Score

How test prep widens the achievement gap

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Too Much Information

The pleasure of figuring things out for yourself

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Counterculture Culture

Why the humanities matter

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Germ Theory

Finding yourself in literature

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Of Love and Learning Online

What would Jane Austen say?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Be Careful What You Wish For

The decline of the humanities is a consequence of their success

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 30, 2013

In Defense of “Like”

The word is, like, not as pointless as you think

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Playing for Keeps

Being a kid isn’t what it used to be

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 03, 2013

“Greater Than Our Brother Is Our Chastity”

Sometimes choices aren’t so obvious

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 10, 2013

An Exemplary Academic Life

You don’t have to rely on institutions to lead one

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 17, 2013

In Pursuit of the Headless Horseman

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Habit

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Teaching with Peter

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Small Orchestra Class

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Tidal Wave of the New

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Older Students

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Food and Learning

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Learning from My Mother

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Teach for America

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Writer’s Block

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Vocation of Teaching and the Penn State Scandal

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

As You Like It

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Chinese Starter Course

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 06, 2011

The Globalized Recipe for Education

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Some Thoughts on the Marriage Plot

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Orson Welles on Reading Shakespeare Aloud

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Teaching the Domestic Novel

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Esthetics of Teaching

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Life Coaches

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 17, 2012

John Dewey

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Nature, Nurture, Fortune, Will

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Social vs. Private Good in Education

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Teaching Creative Writing

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Tracking

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Monday, February 20, 2012

Dr. Johnson’s Profession

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Giving Diversity Its Due

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Teaching and Mental Illness

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Against Educational Reform

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Tune Out, Turn Off

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Education and Brainwashing

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Montaigne on Education

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Lessons from The History Boys

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Byte-sized Life

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Seven Ages of Teaching

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 01, 2012

The New Curated Self

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Stand-Up 101

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Ladder of Craft

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Death of a Salesman—Seen vs. Imagined

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Teaching The Wire

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Devil’s Bargain

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 03, 2012

The Nostalgia of the College Student

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Teaching vs. Mentoring

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Parent-Teacher

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Finally Teaching King Lear

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Chumps at Oxford

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Why I Hate the College Application Essay

Should bragging be a prerequisite for college?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Hate Email

Writers today must have a thick skin

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Reading Caliban

Why can’t scholars write more clearly?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Not Einstein

Teaching science to the rest of us

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 11, 2012

All Doctors Should Teach

A guest columnist’s prescription for MDs

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Hobart Shakespeareans

A movie that reminds us how much a great teacher can do

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Yiddishisms

Words from the old country enrich the language of the new

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Money, Leisure, Death

What college students should be learning about

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Agelessness in Academia

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Master of the Examined Life

Teaching what colleges don’t

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Working Lunch

Three veteran teachers find new lessons about our life’s work

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Inside the NFL

The art of informed conversation

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 20, 2012

On the Road

The intimacy of reading aloud

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Confucianism in China Today

An ancient philosophy makes a comeback

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 04, 2012

The University as Welfare State

Why you should want kooks teaching your kids

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Returning to Matthew Arnold

Sometimes appreciation of a book depends on when you read it

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Based on a True Story

How historical fiction alters our perception of the past

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Major Decisions

It’s time to reimagine how undergraduates study education

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Beyond Words

Our struggle to understand what cannot be understood

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Lopsided Bias of Unconditional Belief

Why to look beyond initial impressions

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Giving Away the Store

How will online learning affect brick and mortar universities?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 19, 2013

A Workout for the Mind

The gym isn’t just for sweating anymore

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Tastemakers

We like what we like until someone changes our minds

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 26, 2013

How to Do What You Do?

The life of a professor isn’t what it used to be

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Urban Encounters

On the art of talking to strangers

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 09, 2013

The Search for Wonder

A lasting lesson on how to view the world

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Hidden Meanings

Who we are colors how we understand language

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Love the One You’re With

Sometimes we must settle for approximations

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Existential Teaching

Exploring “big questions” in the classroom

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Mission Impossible?

Why groupthink won’t save the humanities

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Love Thy Students

Teaching as an emotional experience

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 16, 2013

They All Want Mr. (Ms.) Darcy

Life lessons from Jane Austen

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, July 23, 2013

On Being Awesome

Sometimes we encounter the quality in curious places

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Magic Pills

The story of the making of a miracle drug

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Making Excuses

We love to complain, but is that all we’re doing?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Academic Tumbleweeds

Why eccentricity thrives on campus

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Talking Television

Our favorite shows keep getting better

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Titles

What’s in a form of address?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 08, 2013

Bring on the Masseuse!

The aches and pains of our Internet age

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Talking in Class

Sometimes being articulate isn’t enough

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Learning to Lose

We need to stop treating education like a sport

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Dickens Down the Years

A novel’s continued immediacy

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Study Abroad

What foreign countries can teach us about education

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The Art of Obsession

Some of us are compulsive in our creativity

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Godless Art

In the absence of religion, is morality enough?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 03, 2013

A Question of Worth

Helping students see beyond the classroom

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Self-Justification

Teachers and universities should focus on their students, not on themselves

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Painful Separation

When students outgrow their mentors

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Brilliant

Could we please just tone it down?

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Just Ask

Why my father knows so much

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Rich Are Not Different

Even if they think they are

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Evil, Evil Everywhere

And how it might be affecting our culture

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Family Ties

Our fluid support systems

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Men in Tights

Shakespeare and the power of disguise

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 11, 2014

In Memory of a Great Teacher

Glenn Hobson, 1955-2014

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Escaping America

It’s harder than you might think

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Ugly No More

The American charm offensive

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Home Schooling

A book that teaches families how to succeed

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The Milk of Human (Un)kindness

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Staying Up to Speed

An experienced professor is humbled by his colleague’s knowledge and caring

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Still Lives

The enduring influence of da Vinci’s anatomical drawings

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Winning Isn’t Everything

How the self-esteem movement has failed our kids

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Class Therapy

How the Loman family helped my students understand their own

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 15, 2014

You’re in Denial

And so is everyone else

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Telling Stories about Teaching

The Last Column

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Academics Anonymous

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Tuesday, September 04, 2012

The Seduction

After years of favoring the endurance-test approach to teaching literature, a professor focuses on how to make books spark to life for her students

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Wednesday, December 01, 2010

The Potency of Breathless

At 50, Godard’s film still asks how something this bad can be so good

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Sunday, March 01, 2009

Why Read George Eliot?

Her novels are just modern enough—and just old-fashioned enough, too

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Habit

by Paula Marantz Cohen | Friday, June 03, 2011