ELSSO (English Literary Studies in Society) is a UNED research group devoted to the study of the social projection of English literature. Literature has traditionally been an area of exploration of the most relevant questions for human beings, ranging from the more personal dimension where human emotions, feelings and relationships are the focus to its social impact. The world of thought, the speculations of philosophy, the conflicts on the basis of the constitution of identity, of interpersonal, family and gender relations, of the genealogy of peoples, as well as social conflicts and traumas of all sorts−class, racial, sexual, religious, political, economic, etc.−have found in English literature a privileged place and mode of representation that has allowed the expression of the most diverse voices and perspectives.

The members of ELSSO belong to the Department of English Studies at the Faculty of Philology (UNED) and strive to give voice to that diversity by working on different research lines that, however, complement and reinforce each other. We all share an interest to present English literary texts as a space not just of representation of social discourses, but as an area where they can be questioned, subverted and redefined.