Postgraduate research - contemporary literature?

Not a question about a specific course or institution, but I was wondering if anyone has completed or is considering research in contemporary literature? I know this forum is about postgraduate applications, but even if you wrote an undergraduate dissertation or did any modules relating to contemporary lit at undergraduate level I'd be interested to hear.

My undergraduate background is in modern languages, and I'm looking to do further study in the literature of these languages. Many of the writers I'm interested in are new writers, and I'm keen to write my thesis about one in particular (perhaps with a view to translate the main text into English).

Because only a small part of my undergraduate course was literature-based, I'm not really sure what the stance towards 'new literature' is in the academy (although I can imagine that it does vary by university/supervisor). While the definition of 'literature' is nebulous to begin with, it seems that for writing to be considered worthy of study it can't be too new - it has to have stood the test of time before it can earn the title of 'literature' or before it can be considered a legitimate topic of research. My concern is that my research proposal could be rejected because it takes as its focus work that has not yet solidified its status as 'literary'.

To get to the point, I'd be keen to hear from anyone who has written about(/is hoping to write about) contemporary literature as part of an academic course. Has the 'newness' of the work you write about given you any issues?

Because only a small part of my undergraduate course was literature-based, I'm not really sure what the stance towards 'new literature' is in the academy (although I can imagine that it does vary by university/supervisor). While the definition of 'literature' is nebulous to begin with, it seems that for writing to be considered worthy of study it can't be too new - it has to have stood the test of time before it can earn the title of 'literature' or before it can be considered a legitimate topic of research. My concern is that my research proposal could be rejected because it takes as its focus work that has not yet solidified its status as 'literary'.