20th century and contemporary literatures

English and Creative Writing at The Open University supports research in a wide range of writings from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These include individual author studies, critical and cultural theory, biography, world literature and debates around globalisation, translation, life writing and creative non-fiction, writing the city, literature and politics, and literary tourism.

Several staff have specific interests in creative writing, supported by the Contemporary Cultures of Writing Research Group. Further subjects are covered by research strengths in the history of the book, material cultures, and colonial and postcolonial literatures.

We welcome applications that correspond with current staff research interests. We expect detailed and well-structured proposals which set out specific research questions and clearly outline their originality and critical approach. If you would like to discuss your ideas informally before submitting an application, please contact us.

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

Potential research projects

We welcome applications to study topics that complement our current research.

Current/recent research projects

• Popular genre fiction in Indian writing in English: recent trends in the Indian literary marketplace
• Margiad Evans: body and book. An analysis of the novels, journals and illness narratives
• The last survivors of Hiroshima – a study in memory and trauma
• Twentieth-century poets of the First War
• Pocketful of Words: A study of the ways in which the author’s literary hinterland is employed in the novels of Janet Frame
• The Reception of Katherine Mansfield in Germany

Potential supervisors

• Dr Francesca Benatti
• Professor Richard Brown
• Dr Delia Da Sousa Correa
• Dr Fiona Doloughan
• Professor Suman Gupta
• Dr Sara Haslam
• Dr Ed Hogan
• Professor David Johnson
• Dr Derek Neale
• Dr Alex Tickell
• Dr Shafquat Towheed
• Dr Encarna Trinidad
• Professor Nicola Watson

Fees and funding

Some of our research students are funded via the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.

Links

• English at the OU
• Wasafiri