English and Comparative Literature

English and comparative literature is a combination that situates the study of English firmly within the global context from which it has always emerged. English literature is not a single bounded tradition: it has been shaped by continental European thought and form, by colonial encounters that left their mark on both colonisers and colonised, and by writers from the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia, and beyond who have used the English language to tell stories that challenge and extend it in directions its earliest practitioners could not have imagined. Comparative literature adds the explicit analytical framework for reading across these multiple contexts and for engaging with writing in languages other than English, both in the original and in translation.

At Essex this three-year full-time programme offers the opportunity to explore English literature alongside writings from across the globe, placing literary texts in the global context from which they emerge and examining the ways in which English interacts with the literatures of Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, and beyond. You will develop the skills of close reading, historical contextualisation, and critical argumentation that are central to literary study, alongside the comparative perspective that allows you to see patterns, tensions, and connections across traditions that a single-literature degree would miss. Essex's department has particular strengths in postcolonial literature, world literature, and experimental writing, giving you a rich range of perspectives to draw on.

Graduates of English and comparative literature programmes find careers in publishing, journalism, education, translation, the arts and cultural sector, and the civil service. The analytical, research, and communication skills the degree develops are valued across a wide range of professional settings. Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in English literature, comparative literature, creative writing, translation studies, or journalism, or move into professional programmes in law, policy, or teaching.