English Literature (PhD) – (Ph.D.)

Contents

Research Groups The Department's research environment fosters a wide range of activities that thrive on a high level of interaction and collaboration between individual research groups; hence no formal divisions exist. However, its research can be divided into broad areas which embrace much of English Literature:

* 19th and 20th century fiction
* Contemporary Poetry and Creative Writing
* Medieval Studies
* Poetry and Poetics, 1660 - 1790
* Romantic Studies
* Shakespeare and the Renaissance
* Victorian Poetry

We should, however, emphasise that considerable collaboration occurs between these areas and the research of many staff could be classified in more than one group. Indeed, collaboration between staff is central to the Department's research philosophy and strategy, and interdisciplinary research is particularly facilitated through the existence of the following University Research Centres:

* The Centre for Romantic Studies;
* The Centre for Medieval Studies, which organises research seminars and conferences, and maintains international research links through the Worldwide Universities Network.

The Department runs the AHRC-funded Penguin Archive Project (2008-2012). Its aims are to produce an online catalogue of the Penguin Collection and to pioneer research in the archive, particularly in the areas of modern poetry and (in association with the Departments of Classics and Ancient History, and Historical Studies) Penguin 'specials' and their socio-political impact, and Penguin translations of the classics. Individual members of staff are also involved in collaborative funded projects on Metre Verse Romances, the Medieval South West, and on Medieval Plays in Modern Performance.