Core modules
Critical and Cultural Theory Today
Critical and Cultural Theory has never been more vibrant, nor more urgently needed, than today. Work in all areas of the Humanities has long been inextricably intertwined with critical reflection, often drawing from a multiplicity of disciplines, from philosophy and sociology to literary and visual studies.
This module, typically taught by several members of staff with diverse and complementary expertise, explores key stages in the development of critical and cultural theories, charting recent cultural and literary theory in historically and philosophically located ways. Figures explored in recent years include Byung-Chul Han, Andreas Malm, Jean Baudrillard, Mark Fisher, Theodor Adorno, Gargi Bhattacharya, Stuart Hall, Paul Gilroy, Jasbir Puar, and Gayatri Gopinath.
We explore different, often clashing, critical perspectives on culture, from textual, material, philosophical, and other perspectives. These situated, and often transnational, critical platforms, allow us to both map historical developments in the study of the Humanities. The interaction between aesthetics, culture, and societal issues remains a permanent concern throughout the module.
Dissertation
The Dissertation offers you the opportunity to pursue your own distinct research interests. You can develop any idea you’ve discovered in your modules or write on a completely new topic that has always fascinated you. Our students choose an array of topics within the broadly-conceived boundaries of ‘literary studies’, although we’ll discuss your plans with you to make sure an available member of our teaching staff can support your topic.
Students often use their MA dissertations as springboards to PhD projects and have sometimes gone on to publish parts of their work in scholarly journals.
Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:
- Feminist Literary Theory
- Theory from the Margins: Postcolonialism and the Radical Tradition
- Fundamentals of World Literature
- Modernism and Psychoanalysis
- Petrofiction: Studies in World Literature
- Queer Theory and Praxis
For more information, please visit the Critical and Cultural Theory web page on the English website.Link opens in a new window
