The Syllabus Exposed: Who’s Really Behind It?

In this episode of The Bibliofilles, Sophie and Chaya are back from their summer holidays with their September Book Club picks — The Year of the Rat by Harry Shukman and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde — before diving into a much bigger question: who actually decides what we read?

Inspired by new developments in Texas, where a mandatory school reading list includes more than 200 texts alongside Bible passages, Sophie and Chaya explore the politics of education, literary syllabuses and the power that comes with deciding which books students are exposed to.

They look back at their own experiences of studying English, from The Great Gatsby, Frankenstein and War Poetry to The Go-Between, and ask whether students should have more choice over the books they study.

The conversation then takes a deeper turn into university funding, foreign donations and the influence money can have on education, research and academic institutions. How much influence should donors have? Where does university funding come from? And can we really separate money, politics and what gets taught?

Plus, Sophie and Chaya reveal the books they think should be on everyone's syllabus, including Toni Morrison, The Secret History, Giovanni's Room, Never Let Me Go, 1984 and more.

Is there really such a thing as a neutral syllabus? And who gets to decide what the next generation reads?

📚 Books Mentioned

The Year of the Rat by Harry Shukman

👉 https://link.amazon/B04jA3HWV

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

👉 https://link.amazon/B0bUQ9I4G

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee