Literature and Art History

Literature and art history together address the question of how human experience finds form, in language and in image, and what those forms reveal about the societies and individuals that produce them. Both disciplines involve close reading of complex texts and objects, careful attention to historical context, and the development of analytical frameworks capable of holding together the particular and the general. Studying them together allows you to trace connections between literary and visual traditions, to examine how artists and writers have influenced and responded to each other, and to develop a genuinely comparative understanding of cultural history.

At Essex, this five-year programme combines a foundation year that prepares you for degree-level study with a year abroad that takes you into a different cultural and academic environment. The distinctive curriculum engages with the most current developments in both fields, examining the interactions and differences between literature and the visual arts across historical periods. You will study texts from different literary traditions and historical moments alongside paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other visual works, developing the critical vocabulary and analytical methods needed to engage with both forms.

The Essex programme has a strong interdisciplinary character and a research-active staff whose work is reflected in the teaching.

Graduates from this kind of humanities programme go on to work in museums, galleries, heritage organisations, publishing, journalism, arts administration, education, and cultural policy. The close analytical reading and the capacity for sustained independent inquiry that both subjects develop are also valued in many other professional contexts. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in literature, art history, cultural studies, or curatorial practice, and some pursue academic careers in both fields.