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University of Essex homepage Departments Literature Film and Theatre Studies Research
Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies

Our research

Explorers of story and communication

Our research is at the heart of our activities and feeds directly into our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

We follow a distinctly comparative approach through critical and creative work in literature, drama, film, creative writing and journalism that extends across genres and media forms.

We have internationally recognised expertise in the literatures of the British Isles, the Americas, and Europe, from Shakespeare and transatlantic romanticism to global modernism and world literature, particularly from the United States and the Caribbean. This is combined with strengths in world cinema, film theory and practice, contemporary theatre, poetry, adaptation and translation studies, as well as political communication.

  • Our postgraduate students actively contribute to our research profile. You can explore current PhD theses in our postgraduate students' profiles.
  • You can discover our academic expertise, staff publications, research interests and supervision opportunities by visiting our academic staff profiles.

Research Centres

Our department is home to three Research Centres that conduct critical and practice-based research as well as delivering a range of our undergraduate, masters and research degrees. These are the Centre for Theatre Research, Centre for Creative Writing and Centre for Film and Screen Media.

Centre for Theatre Research
Centre for Creative Writing
Centre for Film and Screen Media

Research clusters

Our research culture stretches across disciplines and various Departments at the University of Essex, and includes members from East 15 Acting School. Our work is underpinned by our commitment to excellence in research, and visible across our overlapping research clusters. Our members include postgraduate students, visiting and postdoctoral fellows, academic staff, and also members of the public.

Visit our research clusters below:

American Literature and Cultures
Comparative Literature and Translation
Creative Writing and Scriptwriting
Ecocriticism, Green Writing and Literary Geographies
Human Rights and the Humanities
Speculative Humanities

Research showcase

Our research showcase gives you the chance to dive deeper into understanding our research.

Bringing history to life at the Palace
Arab journalists and political change – are they reporters of activists?
Breaking through cultural barriers in Hispaniola
One play is worth a hundred speeches

Research projects

We have an excellent record of winning major funding for our research. Some of our recent research projects include:

 

American tropics: towards a literary geography

A five year project carried out by Professor Peter Hulme, Professor Maria Cristina Fumagalli, Dr Owen Robinson and Dr Jak Peake focusing on the literature of the Caribbean and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Memory maps

Memory maps investigated the relationship between writing and place, and was led by our Centre for Creative Writing in collaboration with the Victoria & Albert Museum.

On the edge: the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic

A Leverhulme Research Fellowship awarded to Professor Maria Christina Fumagalli for research into the history of the Haiti-Dominican Republic border.

The Norwich Company of Comedians

This research project investigated acting companies touring the Norwich theatre circuit during the eighteenth and nineteenth century, led by Dr Liz Kuti in our Centre for Theatre Studies and funded by the British Academy.

Academic staff working in Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
Our academic staff are the authors of numerous major publications. See our academic staff profiles for individual research interests, publications and research supervision opportunities.
Research degrees in Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
Find out about the range of research degrees available from the department, find research supervision opportunities and learn how to apply.
Research centres and institutes at the University of Essex
Discover all research centres and institutes housed within the University of Essex.
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Professor Katharine Cockin Director of Research
Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
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