Centre for Critical and Cultural Theory

An institutional space for teaching and research in the discipline of theory.

We have a long and distinguished history as a field-leader in Critical and Cultural Theory. Although no longer operational our Centre for Critical and Cultural Theory was the first of its kind in the UK, and indeed one of the first anywhere in the world. The Centre was set up in 1989 to create an institutional space for teaching and research in the (then) emerging discipline of theory.

Founding members (Catherine Belsey, Christopher Norris, Terry Hawkes and Chris Weedon) wrote landmark works that contributed to shaping the field of critical and cultural theory as an area of teaching and research in the contemporary university.

While the Centre closed in 2018, our current staff carry on this long-standing commitment to excellence and diversity in research, and continue to work at the forefront of pioneering research in critical and cultural theory.

We have a strong international reputation for pioneering research into the work of French thinkers such as Louis Althusser, Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, Gilles Deleuze and Hélène Cixous.

Our staff work in many intersections of the literary, critical, cultural, media and digital, from Continental Thought (poststructuralism, postmodernity, German aesthetics, Frankfurt School) to areas at the crossroads between history, culture and place (postcolonialism, gender and race, cultural history, trauma and memory studies), to a wide range of up-to-date issues relating to the contemporary world (posthumanism, globalisation, digital theory and culture, game studies, and eco-humanities).

We welcome PhD applications in staff specialist areas, such as the following: