In Media and Cultural Studies our major research foci are:

  • television, especially nationally inflected studies and studies considering various intersections between television and lifestyle;
  • studies of everyday life and popular culture;
  • national and industrial aspects of cinema and on-line media;
  • digital, social and mobile media;
  • audience measurement and development;
  • political communication;
  • the examination of public broadcasting and its changing policy and industrial environment,
  • media framing and representations
  • media and identity
  • media language research and
  • the organisation of media production capabilities in cities and regions.

We also apply critical cultural theory to research on gambling, celebrity, race, gender and the environment.

We have strengths in aesthetics, formats, policy and industry across film, television, and the digital humanities. We have particular strengths in screen aesthetics; television criticism, production and programming across fiction and non-fiction genres; and philosophical dimensions of film. Our engagement with film, television, broadcasting and digital media is apparent in the concentration of our work on national screens (Australian cinema) and institutional history and development (ABC; SBS and BBC).

Industry and Research Partnerships

We are engaged with industry and our researchers have had research partners with the State Library of Queensland, the Gallery of Modern Art, the Australian Science Media Centre, the National Museum of Australia, Nielsen (Australia), Live Performance Australia and state and national screen and regulatory agencies.

Staff members have served as programmers and judges for the Brisbane International Film Festival Past and our students been provided with volunteering opportunities.

Media International Australia (MIA) is a leading triple peer-reviewed journal A-ranking international for new scholarly and applied research on the media, telecommunications and the cultural industries, and the policy regimes within which they operate. MIA is published quarterly by The University of Queensland School of Communication and Arts, in association with the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies and research undertaken at this Centre extends understanding of our social, political and cultural environments.

  • Dr Sungyong Ahn

    Lecturer in Digital Media and Cultures
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
    Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
  • Associate Professor Adrian Athique

    School of Communication and Arts
  • Dr Alex Bevan

    Senior Lecturer
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing
    Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing
    Affiliate of Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
    Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
  • Dr Lisa Bode

    Lecturer
    Affiliate of Centre for Critical and Creative Writing
    Centre for Critical and Creative Writing
    Affiliate of Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
    Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
  • Dr Grant Bollmer

    School of Communication and Arts
  • Emeritus Professor David Carter

    Emeritus Professor
    School of Communication and Arts
  • Dr Maureen Engel

    Lecturer
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
    Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
  • Emeritus Professor Carole Ferrier

    Emeritus Professor
    School of Communication and Arts
  • Dr Leah Henrickson

    Lecturer in Digital Media and Cultures
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing
    Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing
    Affiliate of Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
    Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
  • Professor Jason Jacobs

    Director Research & Professor
    School of Communication and Arts
  • Associate Professor Jane Johnston

    Director, Teaching and Learning
    Associate Professor
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Centre for Communication and Social Change
    Centre for Communication and Social Change
  • Dr Samantha Lindop

    Teaching Associate in Digital Cultures & Teaching Associate
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Centre for Communication and Social Change
    Centre for Communication and Social Change
  • Professor Shuang Liu

    Professor
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Centre for Communication and Social Change
    Centre for Communication and Social Change
  • Associate Professor Ted Nannicelli

    Deputy Head
    Associate Professor
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Centre for Critical and Creative Writing
    Centre for Critical and Creative Writing
  • Professor Jenna Ng

    Head of School
    School of Communication and Arts
  • Dr Melanie Piper

    Teaching Associate in Digital Media & Teaching Associate
    School of Communication and Arts
  • Associate Professor Elizabeth Stephens

    Director, Research / Associate Professor of Critical and Cultural Studies
    School of Communication and Arts
  • Associate Professor Pradip Thomas

    Associate Professor
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Centre for Communication and Social Change
    Centre for Communication and Social Change
    Affiliate of Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
    Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
  • Dr Caroline Wilson-Barnao

    Lecturer
    School of Communication and Arts
    Affiliate of Centre of Architecture, Theory, Culture, and History
    Centre of Architecture, Theory, Criticism and History
    Affiliate of Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing
    Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing
    Affiliate of Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies
    Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies