Literary studies
We are one of the largest research hubs in modern languages literary studies in the UK and have a rich network of international research links.
We cover French and Francophone, German, Swiss and Austrian, Portuguese and Lusophone, Russian, Spanish and Latin American literature, as well as Dutch, Serbian/Croatian and Slovene.
Our research extends from the medieval period to the present day, exploring the rich literatures in these languages across Europe and in Africa, Latin America and Québec.
Postgraduate study
Hosting one of the largest set of Modern Language departments in the UK, we offer a unique and vibrant environment for the study of literatures written in one of the languages offered in the school, or in comparative literary studies across departments and the Arts Faculty.
Current and recent postgraduate research projects include
- The first-person discources of madness in 19th century French literature
- Concepts of space in German and British poetry, and in East German prose
- The discourse of theatre during the Russian thaw
- Journalism and literature in the late twentieth-century Spanish press
- Writing and identity in contemporary French fiction for teenagers
- Autobiography and fiction in contemporary German novels
- Images of the subaltern in the novels of Victor Hugo Mãe
- Travel writing on Iberia
Our research and activities
Our research scope includes:
- literary and cultural theory
- critical editing and literary history
- comparative literary studies
- the interfaces between literature and other media, such as the visual arts, film, and music
It explores a range of authors, periods and themes within and across language areas.
Examples of current projects
- Work on the authors Balzac, Brecht, García Lorca, Nabokov, Wilhelm Raabe, José Saramago and Anna Seghers
- The Russian literary canon
- The literature of Québec
- Contemporary German women’s writing
- Displacement in Russian and Balkan literature
- The Hispanic Fantastic
- Literary Realism(s)
We are active in the following research centres and groups:
- Contemporary German Culture and Gender Studies
- Science and Technology Culture
- Modernity and Modernism
- German intellectual history
- Encounters
- Writers and Translators in Conversation
- The Travel Cultures Network
- The Centre for Research on Cuba
- The Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural Studies
Contacts
For media enquiries and consultation requests, please contact the school's Director of Research or relevant experts listed below: