Postgraduate research topics

There are currently 18 research students in English Literature and Creative Writing. Here are some examples of current thesis topics:

English Literature

• Individuality, Identity and the Uncanny in the Plays of Phyllis Nagy
• The Silent Madonna: Representations of Motherhood in Twentieth-Century Literature
• God and Religion in the Novels of Iris Murdoch and Patrick White
• Edith Wharton's short stories
• The Bratpack: Contemporary American Novel Writing

Creative Writing

• In God's Kitchen: A Post-Colonial Autobiography
• Penelope Betjeman 1910-1986: a Biography
• Isabella Steward Gardner: Resurrecting a Life in Art
• Hob's Moat: A Book of Poetry

We encourage students to present conference papers and to publish work during the second and third years of their PhD registration. Works recently accepted for publication include:

• Claire Crowther: Stretch of Closures (volume of poetry), Shearsman Press, February 2007
• Kathy McKean: 'Impermanence and Displacement in Weldon Rising, The Strip
  and Never Land by Phyllis Nagy' in Dimple Godiwala (editor), Alternatives in the Main Stream: British Queer Theatre (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007/8)
• Sarah Whitehead: 'Breaking the Frame: How Edith Wharton's Short Stories Subvert their Magazine Context' in The European Journal of American Culture (2007/8)

Enquiries are welcome from students wishing to undertake research in any of the areas listed on the main Research in English Literature and Creative Writing web pages. It is possible to undertake postgraduate research full-time or part-time. You are encouraged to contact any member of staff, by email, telephone or letter, for an informal conversation prior to application. You can find out more about staff research interests by looking at the staff CVs listed on the same page.

Guidelines on how to write a PhD proposal

Guidelines for making proposals can be found on the research degrees page.

If you are interesting in studying for a degree in Creative Writing, please also see the document 'English Literature Assessment Criteria: For Creative Writing PhD Students' (PDF file, 24 KB).

The Faculty occasionally advertises student bursaries for research in literary studies or creative writing. Such advertisements usually appear in February or early March in the Guardian's Higher Education Supplement, published on Tuesdays, or in the Times Higher Education, published on Thursdays.