Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Literary Studies

Our research

Our understanding of the object of literary studies is not restricted to national identity or language. Our research goals are to explore the extent to which interdisciplinarity is embedded in literary studies for the 21st century.

Over the next few years, we aim to:

• foster interdisciplinary collaborations
• spark challenging research questions
• nurture vital new research
• reach wider audiences and communities
• raise the profile of our research environment locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally
• enhance developments of longstanding projects

Our objectives for the Centre are to identify, prioritise, and pursue specific research questions, such as:

• how can literature help test what it means to be human?
• what role has the graphic novel had in addressing human rights issues?
• what is the legacy of new writing for the stage in campus theatres in higher education?

Collaborating with researchers

Over the next few years, it's our mission to enhance existing research at Essex in areas such as law and literature, archival studies, scholarly editing, translation studies, psychoanalytic approaches to literature, science fiction, and utopian studies. In the coming years, we intend to enhance further consolidations of research in the literature of the US and Americas, literature and migration, literature and medical humanities, and literature and environment.

Potential research development and enhancements will be welcomed in collaboration with some of our other existing research clusters as shown below, where we aim to encourage and build upon existing related research strengths.

Research projects

• Professor Katharine Cockin: AHRC Ellen Terry and Edith Craig Database and AHRC Searching for Theatrical Ancestors project.
• Professor Maria Christina Fumagalli: Derek Walcott’s Painters: A Life with Pictures (EUP, 2023)
• Painting the Caribbean (1850-1904)
• Professor Katharine Cockin, Dr Sean Seeger, Dr Javier Andreu-Perex, and Dr Daniel O'Brien: Reading Robots

Impacting education and career development

Are you an undergraduate, postgraduate, or postgraduate research student? Our Centre is committed to enhancing your education and providing opportunities for career development to all those studying at the University of Essex.

From building clear pathways that help you transition from undergraduate study, right through to postgraduate research study, providing opportunities for research supervision, providing mentoring opportunities through our links with the Consortium for Humanities and the Arts South-East England (CHASE), helping early career researchers with obtaining early feedback, and educating our students through mentorship with grant application training and much more.

In 2023-24 and 2024-25 we have provided opportunities for students to gain paid work experience by helping to organise events for our Centre.

Postgraduate Research

AHRC CHASE Collaborative Doctoral Award

The University of Essex is part of the Consortium for Humanities and the Arts South-East England (CHASE), an AHRC-funded Doctoral Training Partnership.

Our Centre is currently supervising AHRC CHASE Collaborative Doctoral Award student Flavia Homburg, who is working on her PhD project, Catalysts for Change: Theatre Underground. This project explores the history of Theatre Underground (1979-96), University of Essex campus theatre, and the relationships it forged between ‘town and gown’. New writing for the stage brought to life significant events in local history and new drama in translation brought world theatre to Essex.

Flavia's research will focus on the Theatre Underground archive at the University of Essex. At the Mercury Theatre Colchester, interpretations of the production materials will be explored with theatre practitioners; and public engagement workshops, led by Flavia, will seek interviews with alumni and audience members of Theatre Underground.

Our events

As members, we're excited to host a wide range of events over the coming years, both nationally, and internationally, online and in person. These events will include public engagement activities, workshops, and a regular book club amongst more. We have a strong vision for creating opportunities to provide a voice for new communities of readers and share our experiences through knowledge exchange networks.

All upcoming events can be found on our events calendar: