English literature research
To explore English literature is to uncover the history of the English speaking world. Throughout history, literature has been a companion to the trials, tribulations, successes and achievements of our nation. Beyond entertainment, it has commented on corruption, taught lessons on love, war and justice, transported us to new worlds, and changed our views.
English literature can change the way we think about the world. It can shape opinion on cultures, communities and people. It can give power to unrepresented and marginalised voices, or be used as a weapon to repress and control through propaganda. In an increasingly globalised world, where rapid change is the norm, it is important to study how English literature provides insight and understanding into the lives of other individuals, communities and cultures.
For over a decade, the Centre for Studies in Literature has been home to our English literature research. Our researchers have expertise in early modern writing, nineteenth-century literature and culture, and twentieth-century British and American literature. We bring together scholars from different fields within literary studies to promote academic research and innovation in literary studies, and wider engagement with research through collaboration and dissemination.
Interested in a PhD in English literature?
Explore our Literary Studies postgraduate research degrees – including PhDs and MPhils.
Explore our English literature areas of expertise
Find out more about our English literature research – and learn more about our recent projects, the partners with whom we collaborate and the major funders who fund our work, in the areas of expertise below.
Body politics
We're exploring how bodies shape identity, how the body is presented through performance, and how cultural representations of bodies have changed over time.
Modern literature
We're studying literature written in or translated into English, from across the globe and within different genres, from the Renaissance to the present.
Culture, community and heritage
We're examining how communities are formed — and sometimes disintegrated — through the sharing of writing, reading, performance and the literary dissemination of ideas.
Time, space and environment
We're exploring representations of time, space and environment in literature and culture – from the eighteenth century to the present day.
Publication highlights
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Brexit and the Migrant Voice: EU Citizens in post-Brexit Literature and Culture
Berberich, C. (2022) "Brexit and the Migrant Voice: EU Citizens in post-Brexit Literature and Culture", Taylor and Francis Ltd
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Poles in Britain, History, Culture and Literature, 1772 to the Present
Bowers, M., Dew, B. (2021) "Poles in Britain, History, Culture and Literature, 1772 to the Present", Palgrave Macmillan
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Auratic encounters with posthumous literary celebrity in Henry James’s late Victorian tales: desiring the dead
Boyce, C. (2022) "Auratic encounters with posthumous literary celebrity in Henry James’s late Victorian tales: desiring the dead", Victoriographies
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Reading Novels During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Davies, B., Lupton, C., Gormsen Schmidt, J. (2022) "Reading Novels During the Covid-19 Pandemic", Oxford University Press
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Environment and Ecology in the Long Nineteenth Century Vol 1: Scientific and Professional Perspectives on Environment, 1780-1858
Frost, M. (2022) "Environment and Ecology in the Long Nineteenth Century Vol 1: Scientific and Professional Perspectives on Environment, 1780-1858", Routledge
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“You’ll be the only Dickinson they talk about in two hundred years”: Queer Celebrity, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, A Quiet Passion, Wild Nights with Emily, and Apple TV+'s Dickinson
Finnerty, P. (2022) "“You’ll be the only Dickinson they talk about in two hundred years”: Queer Celebrity, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, A Quiet Passion, Wild Nights with Emily, and Apple TV+'s Dickinson", The Emily Dickinson Journal
Research groups
Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture
We're researching the relationship between literature and nineteenth-century culture.
Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Literature and Culture
We're researching how culture and transnational identity is portrayed in twentieth and twenty-first century literature.
Research projects
Portsmouth Literary Map
Explore Portsmouth's rich literary heritage and contemporary literature scene through an interactive map and blog
Lockdown reading
This project researches reading habits during the COVID-19 pandemic through surveys, publisher data and interviews.
Read the Writing Literary Portsmouth blog
Writing Literary Portsmouth, the blog of the Portsmouth Literary Map, is here to stimulate discussions about the city, its incredible literary history, and its thriving creative scene.
