Monash University: University Handbooks: Postgraduate Handbook 2001: Subjects indexed by faculty
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Comparative literature, cultural studies and critical theory


The discipline

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/

PhD

General information

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.

Entry requirements

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.

Coursework and research structure

The degree will consist of a research thesis plus a selection of three eight-point subjects from the following:

Master of Arts in Critical Theory

General information

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.

Entry requirements

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.

Course structure

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.

Masters Qualifying in Critical Theory with a research component

General information

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.

Entry requirements

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.

Course structure

Students are required to satisfactorily complete two 12-point core subjects:

and a further two 12-point subjects:

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