Comparative
literature investigates literature in ways which go beyond particular
national or linguistic boundaries. Comparative literary studies are of two main
kinds: substantive studies of the literature of two or more languages or
literary cultures; and generalising studies of the literary process itself, for
example literary history or the sociology of literature. Particular research
strengths include: European, Asian and Latin American literature; romanticism,
modernism and postmodernism; literature and philosophy; and comparative
literary theory. Postgraduate students are expected to read literary texts in
the original language. Applications are encouraged from students with good
linguistic abilities.
Cultural studies is the study of cultural texts, spaces and practices in
relation to their various social, historical and ideological contexts. It is a
field that has been at the cutting edge of research and debate in the
humanities over the past 20 years. There are two main variants of cultural
studies at Monash: the study of popular cultural text normally excluded from
the canons of high art and literature (for example popular fiction, popular
cinema and television); and the study of canonical art and literature in
relation to its social, historical and ideological context. Particular research
strengths include postcolonial culture, genre studies, graphic novels, New
Hollywood, Japanese popular culture, science fiction and cyberculture. Cultural
studies at Monash is both comparative and theoretical in approach. It seeks to
problematise the binary oppositions between high and low culture and to make
use of a broad range of theoretical perspectives.
Critical theory is a term which has come to signify a number of
contemporary approaches to textual and cultural criticism. These include:
hermeneutics and reception theory; Marxism, feminism and psychoanalysis;
semiotics, structuralism and post-structuralism; postcolonial, post-modern and
post-humanist theory. Such theories have been central to recent work in
literary, visual and cultural studies, but also to such related fields as
anthropology, performance studies, philosophy and sociology. Critical theory at
Monash has particularly strong research interests in ecophilosophy and
ecofeminism, cultural materialism, deconstruction, feminist critical theory,
hermeneutics and psychoanalysis.
Also see the entries under ´English' and ´Visual culture'. Visit our
website at http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/cclcs/postgraduate/
Course
code: 0020 * Course fees: Local students - HECS; international students -
$A13,000 * pa * Coordinator: Andrew Milner
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy may be taken by research only or by research
and coursework. The PhD by research only is taken by submission of a 80,000 to
90,000-word thesis on an approved topic. The PhD by research and coursework
normally consists of three eight-point coursework subjects and a 60,000 to
75,000-word research thesis on an approved topic. Subjects are offered subject
to sufficient student numbers.
Candidates for admission to the PhD should normally hold a first class or second class division A four-year honours degree or MA in an appropriate discipline, or a masters qualifying with first class honours or second class division A, with a grade of distinction or above for the research component. Mid-year entry is possible for the PhD by research only.
The degree will consist of a research thesis plus a selection of three eight-point subjects from the following:
Course
code: 100% Research 2695; 66% Research 2894 * Course fees: Local students -
HECS; international students - $A13,000 * pa * Coordinator: Andrew
Milner
The degree may be taken by research only or by coursework and research. See
under ´Research masters' in the front of the Arts postgraduate section for
more details about the MA by 100 per cent thesis. The MA by research
and coursework consists of three eight-point coursework subjects and a 25,000
to 35,000-word thesis on an approved topic (weighted at 66 per cent).
The MA by research and coursework will normally be completed in one-and-a-half
years of full-time study or three years part-time.
The minimum entry requirements are a four-year honours degree with first class or second class division A honours, or a masters qualifying with first class or second class division honours with a grade of distinction or above for the research component. Mid-year entry is possible for the Masters of Arts in Critical Theory.
The MA by research and coursework will consist of a thesis weighted at 66 per cent, plus a selection of three eight-point subjects from the following:
Note that the minimum pass grade for subjects in the Master of Arts is 60C, that is, a grade of credit or above is required in every subject and for the thesis.
Program
code: 1988 * Program fee: Local students - HECS; international students -
$A13,000
All subjects are offered subject to sufficient student numbers. The normal
duration of the program is one year full-time or two years part-time.
The minimum entry requirement is a bachelors degree with a distinction average grade in the third part of a major sequence. Mid-year entry is possible for the Masters Qualifying in Critical Theory.
Students are required to satisfactorily complete two 12-point core subjects:
and a further two 12-point subjects:
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