MPhil/PhD Literary & Critical Theory

This course explores critical theory in its historical and contemporary modalities on the Goldsmiths MPhil/PhD in Literary and Critical Theory. The Department of English and Comparative Literature offers a stimulating environment for undertaking postgraduate research in critical theory and, more broadly, the relationship between philosophy, literature, and other cultural forms. The MPhil Pathway in Literary and Critical Theory enables postgraduate researchers to explore topics in any aspect of critical theory, from its emergence in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the work of Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche, to the critiques of modern capitalism and fascism developed in the twentieth century by the Frankfurt School and others, to contemporary modes of critical theory including critical race theory, postcolonial theory, feminist theory, gender studies and queer theory, eco-criticism, psychoanalysis, and various approaches developing out of structuralism and post-structuralism. You'll develop transferable skills, including: enhanced communication and discussion skills in written and oral contexts; the ability to analyse and evaluate different textual materials; the ability to organise information; the ability to assimilate and evaluate competing arguments.

Students should normally have (or expect to be awarded) a taught Masters in a relevant subject area. Students might also be considered for some programmes if they aren’t a graduate or their degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that they have the ability to work at postgraduate level.