PhD Courses
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy may be taken by Research only or by Research and Coursework.
The Centre draws on staff across the Faculty of Arts to supervise its students' theses. See the Academic Staff page for information about the interests of staff employed by or closely associated with the Centre. The brief accounts there indicate the areas in which it is usually possible to find an appropriate supervisor through the Centre.
In general terms the areas in which the Centre is most interested to attract students are the following:
- Comparative European, Latin American and East Asian literary studies.
- Modernism, postmodernism and the avante-garde.
- Utopia, dystopia and science fiction.
- Popular fiction and popular culture.
- Literature, philosopy and aesthetics, especially Adorno, Benjamin, Blanchot, Deleuze, Derrida, Gadamer, Kristeva, Levinas and Lyotard.
- Literature, politics and society, especially Baudrillard, Bourdieu, Foucault, Jameson and Williams.
- Feminist theory, especially psychoanalysis and feminism, ecocriticism and ecofeminism.
- Post-structuralist literary theory and semiotics.
Consult the Research page for current research projects and publications in the Centre. See the titles of current CLCS theses for an indication of students' interests.
Candidates for admission to the PhD should normally hold
- a first class (or second class division A) honours degree in an appropriate discipline
- an MA in an appropriate discipline
- or an MQual with first class honours (or second class division A) with a grade of distinction or above for the research component
For further details see the Postgraduate Handbook or contact the Centre's Graduate Coordinator, Professor Andrew Milner.
Further information is also available on the School's Graduate Studies (Research) page.
PhD by Research
The majority of the Centre's postgraduates are PhD by Research only candidates, both full-time and part-time, many on scholarships.
The PhD by Research is taken by submission of a thesis not exceeding 90,000 words on an approved topic.
PhD by Coursework and Research
The Centre is the only unit in the Faculty of Arts to offer a PhD by Coursework and Research. Students who opt to do this will complete two of the coursework units described below in their first semester of candidature. They will be expected to write a slightly shorter thesis (say 70,000 words as opposed to the normal 85,000 words). See above for areas in which the Centre may be able to appoint appropriate supervisors.
The PhD coursework units are listed below, although not all may be offered in any one year. They all take place in the first semester of the year. The links on codes will lead to the appropriate entry in the online University Handbook, which is the guide to academic prerequisites and corequisites and to details of assessment and timetabling. Links on the names of units lead to fuller descriptions with booklists.
| Code | Name | Coordinator |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Theory: A Survey | Andrew Milner | |
| Critical Theory: An Approach | Andrew Benjamin | |
| Critical Theory: A Theorist | Alison Ross | |
| French Language | Brian Nelson | |
| German Language | Kate Rigby |
N.B. With permission from their school, any PhD candidate in the Faculty of Arts can take one or more of these PhD units.
For further information about the coursework units offered in 2008 please consult the Centre's entry in the Postgraduate Handbook or contact the Centre's Graduate Coordinator, Professor Andrew Milner.