Contemporary Literature and Criticism
Contemporary Literature and Criticism is a research topic within Literature and Literary Theory. Science Explorer counts 11k research works in it since 1950. 14.5% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the themes and characteristics of postmodern literature, including its engagement with cultural critique, narrative experimentation, and the impact of historical events such as 9/11. It delves into the works of prominent authors like Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace, examining their contributions to contemporary fiction and the reflection of national memory in literary culture.
- Postmodernism
- Contemporary Fiction
- Thomas Pynchon
- David Foster Wallace
- Cultural Critique
- Narrative
- Metamodernism
- 9/11
- Literary Culture
- National Memory
- Research works
- 11k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 1.6k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 14.5% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +28% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Contemporary Literature and Criticism research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (352 and 216 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 352 works
- 2 United Kingdom 216 works
- 3 India 138 works
- 4 China 121 works
- 5 France 90 works
- 6 Türkiye 86 works
- 7 Australia 75 works
- 8 Germany 70 works
- 9 Indonesia 62 works
- 10 Canada 60 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Contemporary Literature and Criticism research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Maryville University publishes the most Contemporary Literature and Criticism research, followed by University College Dublin and Film Independent.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Maryville UniversityUnited States 19 works
- 2 University College DublinIreland 13 works
- 3 Film IndependentUnited States 13 works
- 4 Tribhuvan UniversityNepal 12 works
- 5 The University of SydneyAustralia 11 works
- 6 Universidad de ZaragozaSpain 9 works
- 7 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 9 works
- 8 The University of MelbourneAustralia 8 works
- 9 Sapienza University of RomeItaly 8 works
- 10 Les Afriques dans le MondeFrance 8 works
Who are the leading researchers in Contemporary Literature and Criticism?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Contemporary Literature and Criticism include Fredric Jameson.
- 1 Fredric Jameson United States 1.4k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Contemporary Literature and Criticism research done?
The largest centres of Contemporary Literature and Criticism research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Beijing (China), Paris (France) and New York (United States). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in St Louis and Dublin.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- St LouisUS · 21.0 works9.0×
- DublinIE · 21.4 works6.6×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Contemporary Literature and Criticism than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Contemporary Literature and Criticism?
Among universities, judged by research, Tribhuvan University, University College Dublin and Universidad de Zaragoza score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tribhuvan UniversityNepal | 72.0 | 24.7% | 13.8× | 12 | — |
| 2 | University College DublinIreland | 69.2 | 8.8% | 15.6× | 13 | +92.8% |
| 3 | Universidad de ZaragozaSpain | 68.7 | 21.1% | 11.9× | 9 | +73.4% |
| 4 | Maryville UniversityUnited States | 60.4 | 7.0% | 1853.7× | 19 | — |
| 5 | The University of MelbourneAustralia | 31.0 | 15.9% | 4.3× | 8 | -1.0% |
| 6 | University of OxfordUnited Kingdom | 28.7 | 5.8% | 3.3× | 9 | +86.4% |
| 7 | The University of SydneyAustralia | 23.8 | 3.1% | 5.4× | 11 | +2.9% |
| 8 | Sapienza University of RomeItaly | 23.4 | 12.0% | 3.7× | 8 | — |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Contemporary Literature and Criticism research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 28% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Contemporary Literature and Criticism.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.