English Literature
Research in English Literature includes all literatures written in English outside of North America from 1500 to the present. Our goal as a whole is to comprehend “English literature” as a global phenomenon, as a body of writing intersecting with other writings from 1500 to the present, and as a diverse articulation of cultural values impinging on social, political and scientific life. Our goal is also to investigate the development of material life in Britain and other English-speaking nations as it has been represented and affected by literature.
The research is "global" while we focus on concept like time, space, places and "non-places", geography and environment as constricting prerequisites for literary production and literary studies. Our group of researchers is the only larger unit i Sweden solely devoted to the study of the literature of Great Britain and the former members of the Commonwealth.
Research Areas
Professor Emma Clery specialises in British Literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, print culture, women’s writing and the cultural history of economics. Both Stephen Donovan (docent) and Stuart Robertson (lecturer) specialise in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, focusing specifically on material culture, Joseph Conrad, Henry James, colonialism, the history of books and science. Ashleigh Harris (professor) is a specialist in postcolonialism, African literature in English, gender studies and ethics.
Current Research Projects
- Stephen Donovan, The Image of Rhodesia in British Culture.
- Ashleigh Harris, De-realising Africa: Afropolitanism and the African Novel.
- Ashleigh Harris, Nicklas Hållén: African Street Literatures and the Future of Literary Form
Doctoral Students
Current research on the doctoral level comprises theses on African literature, creative non-fiction in late 20th-century Britain, the use of space in early modern drama, gender and performance theory, theatrical culture, and playhouse conditions in the early modern period.
- Suzanne Ericson
- Rodney Likaku
- Avantika Pokhriyal
- Cecilia Lindskog Whiteley
