Cultural Currents in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century: Continuities between 'Victorian' and the 'Modernist' Literature (Ref: SSH26-SF-SP-EN)

About the Project

This PhD project provides an opportunity to investigate and challenge the boundaries and definitions of ‘Victorian’ and ‘modernist’ literature across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Key issues to be explored include: how do we define Victorian and modernist writing? How do these concepts relate to historical periodisation; for example, the idea of a radical transformation between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? What about the so-called transitional period of the fin de siècle or turn of the century? What are some of the continuities and affinities that we can identify in literature and culture across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? Does literature have to be ‘new’, experimental and demonstrably modern or modernist to be worthy of study? And what role does genre fiction, such as the sensation novel, the Gothic, the weird tale, play in our definitions of nineteenth and twentieth-century literature?

The English department at Loughborough has particular research expertise in these areas. The Cultural Currents: Nineteenth to Twentieth Century research group has a wealth of knowledge relating to several areas of nineteenth and twentieth-century literature and culture, including Victorian literature, decadence and aestheticism, the fin de siècle, Edwardian literature, the Gothic, sensation fiction, Weird fiction, and modernism. PhD researchers in these areas would be embedded and supported by a lively and diverse research culture, within the English department, the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, and the wider University.

Name of primary supervisor/CDT lead:
Sarah Parker s.l.parker@lboro.ac.uk

Names of secondary supervisors:
Anne-Marie Beller; Barbara Cooke; Nick Freeman; Jade Elizabeth French; Clare Hutton; Claire O'Callaghan; Oliver Tearle; Wim Van Mierlo
Link

Entry requirements:
A 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent international qualification) in a related subject.

English language requirements:
Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements. Further details are available on the International website (link).

Bench fees required: No

Closing date of advert: 1st February 2027

Start date: January 2026, April 2026, July 2026, October 2026

Full-time/part-time availability: Full-time 3 years, Part-time 6 years

Fee band: 2025/26 Band RA (UK £5,006, International £22,360)

How to apply:
All applications should be made online. Under Campus, please select Loughborough and select English (School of Social Sciences and Humanities). Please quote the advertised reference number SSH26-SF-SP-EN in your application.
To avoid delays in processing your application, please ensure that you submit the minimum supporting documents. The following selection criteria will be used by academic schools to help them make a decision on your application.

Project search terms:
american studies, british and irish history, creative writing, english literature, gender studies, Victorian literature, modernism, gothic, decadence.

Email enquiries:
ssh.pgr@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk