Why choose this programme

Research in literary and cultural studies brings together researchers from across the School of Literature and Languages to examine pressing social and cultural issues. These include:

Social and cultural networks
Cities and urban culture
Embodiment and the practice and politics of movement
Post-humanism
Queer studies and subversive space
Medical humanities
Transnationalism and its limitations.

We’re part of the interdisciplinary?School of Literature and Languages, which has research-active staff in English literature, creative writing, film studies, translation studies, theoretical and applied linguistics, and literary and cultural studies.

We’re a member of?TECHNE, an?Arts and Humanities Research Council?AHRC)-funded doctoral training partnership, which provides access to comprehensive academic and professional training programmes, as well as the possibility of funding for your studies.

Our projects have examined areas such as the international reception of British artists, publishing and activism networks in Latin America, and French migration and anarchist movements.

Here at Surrey, you’ll join a cosmopolitan, multilingual and multicultural community of students and scholars, and we see our research students as being a core part of the School.

What you will study

This is a programme which will take you on a research journey across cultures. You will develop your own research methodologies to navigate contemporary or historical cultural issues relevant to your project. This might involve archival study, action-based research or field work, as well as literary and cultural analysis.

Research in areas such as gender and sexuality, medical humanities, mobilities and urban studies, creative collaborations and the visual arts, contemporary and historic film, and environmental or political activism, will be supported by expert academics working at the cutting edge of fields such as these. Your research may focus on the intersections between different cultures and languages, or it may take a deep dive into a particular cultural or literary phenomenon.

As a researcher in literary and cultural studies you will become an expert in your project area through in-depth research and advanced analytical skills. You will be fully supported by academic supervisors to engage with current research and to advance the importance of cultural understanding in our globally networked world.