University of East Anglia

Faculty Member, School of Film and Television Studies

Head of School, Film and Television Studies

About

I've been a member of Film and Television Studies at the University of East Anglia since 2006; in August 2011 I became Head of School. Before that I was a Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Glamorgan for six years. From 2005 to 2010 I was also an Associate Tutor for the Open University course 'DA204 - Understanding Media'.

I'm currently undertaking the 3-year AHRC-funded research project, 'Make Me Laugh: Creativity in the British Television Comedy Industry' (2012-14); the research associate is Sarah Ralph and the doctoral student is Erica Horton. We're researching the processes television comedy projects go through, and the factors that help and hinder creativity.

My research interests are comedy (especially the sitcom), popular culture, cultural hierarchies, categories and genres, and popular television (especially the documentary). And animals.

I've taught at Middlesex University, Thames Valley University, Central Missouri State University, and at the Centre for Mass Communication Research at the University of Leicester, and I spent a year in Australia as a TEFL teacher. I did my under- and post-graduate studies at Canterbury Christ Church College, receiving my degree and PhD from the University of Kent.

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