English Literature

Print version

What is English Literature?

Staff in English Literature research and teach, from numerous critical and theoretical perspectives, a wide range of English-language literary works-- novels, plays, poems and non-fictional texts--from medieval times to the present day. Among the group's areas of scholarly and teaching interest are contemporary global English literature; life-writing; Shakespeare and early modern (or Renaissance) literature; American literature, especially from the nineteenth through to the twentieth centuries; Australasian and postcolonial writing; James Joyce and literary modernism; criticism and critical theory from the Greeks to recent times; eighteenth-century and Romantic literature; the Gothic; Australian literary publishing and institutions; past and present writing by women; gender and women's studies.


Study Opportunities in English Literature

The program in English literature introduces undergraduate students to one of the world's key literary traditions as well as to contemporary global English-language literary culture. Undertaking the formal study of anglophone literature from its beginnings to the present day is to be introduced to a vast intellectual and cultural history--one that records the almost infinitely different ways in which men and women, from a great variety of different times and places, have lived, thought, argued, felt and imagined. At a more pragmatic level, the program trains students in vital analytical, critical, research and writing skills now essential in very many occupations and professions. An Honours year is available, and is strongly recommended for those students who have succeeded in their undergraduate studies. Students wishing to undertake Honours should discuss this possibility with at least one of their lecturers and with the EMSAH Honours program director.

Advisory teams drawn from the staff in English Literature supervise Masters and Doctoral theses across the range of literatures in English, and we particularly encourage students to undertake research in topics that relate to staff members' specific areas of expertise and that take advantage of the research strengths of the UQ library. Higher degree candidatures are accepted subject to availability of appropriate supervision. For futher information, please consult EMSAH's Director of Postgraduate Studies and go to: Research Higher Degrees


Further Information

The Calendar of Research Events gives details of talks, lectures, symposia, Advanced Study Options and other research activity associated with English Literature for the year.

Dr Tony Thwaites' photo tour of James Joyce's Dublin contains photos of various sites from Ulysses taken on a trip to Ireland in June 2004. The website follows the order of the book, and provides links to other sites with information about Joyce and this extraordinary book.

For more information, please contact Dr Peter Holbrook.