Is Vidals work taught in universities?
Yes, it is. In December 2006, I received word from a Chinese visitor to the Index that Vidal’s work is taught in a Chinese university. One teacher there, a U.S. citizen, has introduced students in the course “Civilizations Outside China” to such Vidal essays as “The Twelve Caesars” and “The Second American Revolution” together with chapters from “The Twelve Caesars” of Suetonius. His students also read “Lincoln” in the course “American Literature” and discuss it in reference to other American novels like Richard Russo’s “Empire Falls.” From time to time I receive other notes from teachers who use his work, especially his political novels, in their classes. His political play The Best Man is also a frequent guest on syllabi. Vidal is rather popular in Australia. Over the past 12 years, at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, Professor Heather Neilson has taught, to undergraduates and post-graduates, Burr, 1876, Julian, Creation and Messiah. She also has shown the film Bob R
