We investigate the rapidly changing role of data in communication, as well as digital media more broadly.
“Research into media and communications research is thriving at Edinburgh! We have around 50 members, working in many different Schools across the university. We have specialist strands in data, digital design, journalism, political communications, screen studies and social media. We collaborate on research grants, to supervise PhD students, and help develop each other’s work.”
We take a unique, interdisciplinary approach to this work, bringing together media experts from across the College and beyond. Some of our members take media and communications as their object of study, whilst others engage in research as a form of media practice. Our outlook is global. We study Scottish and British media, as well as media in Africa, East and South Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific. We are all profoundly interested in meaning-making, trust and the exercise of power.
These projects give you an indication of the range of research carried out by Media and Communications researchers at Edinburgh. They include more traditional research projects and research-as-practice.
How media influences governments’ allocation of humanitarian aid
Signs and Gestures
Telling Tales of Engagement: Poetic Expressions of Smart Donations with Oxfam
What is humanitarian news? A multi-sited study of how journalists define, debate and reproduce the boundaries of humanitarianism
SMS:Africa – Social Media and Security in Africa
SOCIAM: The Theory and Practice of Social Machines
Becoming Animal: “A thought-provoking, peculiar exploration of nature”
Kii Nche Ndutsa (Time and the Seashell)
Meet our researchers
All
Journalism
Social Media
Screen Studies
Digital Design
Data
Political Communications
Andrew Clausen
Senior Lecturer
Andrew Connor
Lecturer in Design and Digital Media
Annika Bergman Rosamond
Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Gender
Ben Marder
Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Director of PGR Programmes
Benjamin Bach
Bronwyn Jones
Translational Fellow
Charlotte Gleghorn
Senior Lecturer in Latin American Film Studies
Clare Llewellyn
Lecture in Governance, Technology and Data
Claudia Pagliari
Senior Lecturer
Corentin Curchod
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management and Organization
Cristian Vaccari
Chair in Future Governance and Policy and Technology
David Sorfa
Senior Lecturer in Film Studies
Ebithal Mahadeen
Lecturer in Gender and Media Studies
Emma Davie
Reader
Emma Hunter
Professor of Global and African History
Eric Laurier
Reader in Geography and Interaction
Ewa Luger
Chair of Human-Data Interaction
George Karekwaivanane
Senior Lecturer in African Studies
Huw Davies
Lecturer in Digital Education (Data and Society)
Jean-Benoit Falisse
Senior Lecturer in African Studies and International Development
John Lee
Professor of Digital Media
Jonny Murray
Senior Lecturer in Film and Visual Culture
Jules Rawlinson
Senior Lecturer
Julie Cupples
Professor and Personal Chair of Human Geography & Cultural Studies
Karen Gregory
Senior Lecturer in Sociology
Kate Orton-Johnson
Director of Education
Kate Wright
Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Media and Communication
Lachlan Urquhart
Senior Lecturer in Technology Law and Human Computer Interaction
Laura Cram
Professor of European Politics and Director of NRLabs Neuropolitics Research
Lotte Hoek
Professor of Cultural Anthropology
Maggie Dwyer
Lecturer in African Studies and International Development
Merlyn Seller
Lecturer in Design and Screen Cultures
Morgan Currie
Senior Lecturer in Data and Society
Nick Prior
Professor of Cultural Sociology
Oliver Escobar
Chair of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation
Paulo Cavaliere
Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and IT Law
Rachael Craufurd Smith
Reader in EU Law
Richard Coyne
Professor of Architectural Computing
Robin Hill
Senior Laboratory Manager
Sarah Liu
Senior Lecturer in Gender and Politics
Smita Kheria
Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law
Thomas Molony
Senior Lecturer in African Studies
Tom Boylston
Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology
Walid Magdy
Reader | Associate Professor | Founder and Director of Social Media Analysis and Support for Humanity
We carry out research into the political economies of journalism, news organisations, management and elites. We also study changes in journalistic practice, including historical shifts, the entrance of new actors into contemporary journalism, and the rapidly changing relationship of journalism to data and social media. We are interested in the relationship of journalism to different forms of advocacy, including humanitarian and human rights activism, party politics and the creation of ‘fake news’. Finally, our members use innovative, interdisciplinary methods to study audience responses to news and current affairs coverage.
Andrew Clausen
Senior Lecturer
Bronwyn Jones
Translational Fellow
Corentin Curchod
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management and Organization
Ebithal Mahadeen
Lecturer in Gender and Media Studies
Emma Hunter
Professor of Global and African History
Ewa Luger
Chair of Human-Data Interaction
Jean-Benoit Falisse
Senior Lecturer in African Studies and International Development
Kate Wright
Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Media and Communication
Paulo Cavaliere
Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and IT Law
Rachael Craufurd Smith
Reader in EU Law
Sarah Liu
Senior Lecturer in Gender and Politics
Walid Magdy
Reader | Associate Professor | Founder and Director of Social Media Analysis and Support for Humanity
We study how social media shapes, and is shaped by, a variety of different issues and practices. These include military conflict and interpersonal violence, health beliefs and behaviour, and political attitudes or events, such as those associated with Brexit. Our members’ interdisciplinary research explores how social media captures audience members’ attention and shapes their emotional and cognitive responses in ways which shape the decisions they make. We also study the cultural and sociological aspects of social media, including humour and ‘digital detoxification’ practices. Some researchers engage with industry bodies to develop software to better cope with the more problematic aspects of social media, such as the dissemination of ‘fake news’.
Ben Marder
Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Director of PGR Programmes
Clare Llewellyn
Lecture in Governance, Technology and Data
Claudia Pagliari
Senior Lecturer
Corentin Curchod
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management and Organization
Cristian Vaccari
Chair in Future Governance and Policy and Technology
Ebithal Mahadeen
Lecturer in Gender and Media Studies
Eric Laurier
Reader in Geography and Interaction
George Karekwaivanane
Senior Lecturer in African Studies
Jean-Benoit Falisse
Senior Lecturer in African Studies and International Development
John Lee
Professor of Digital Media
Julie Cupples
Professor and Personal Chair of Human Geography & Cultural Studies
Kate Orton-Johnson
Director of Education
Lachlan Urquhart
Senior Lecturer in Technology Law and Human Computer Interaction
Laura Cram
Professor of European Politics and Director of NRLabs Neuropolitics Research
Maggie Dwyer
Lecturer in African Studies and International Development
Nick Prior
Professor of Cultural Sociology
Robin Hill
Senior Laboratory Manager
Smita Kheria
Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law
Thomas Molony
Senior Lecturer in African Studies
Walid Magdy
Reader | Associate Professor | Founder and Director of Social Media Analysis and Support for Humanity
Our members study cinema, documentary film, television and other screen-based media. Some scholars are practitioners who engage in award-winning forms of research-as-practice. Others undertake empirical and theoretical investigations of the ways in which the screen animates social, political, aesthetic and economic relations, drawing on a range of disciplinary and critical perspectives from area studies, the arts and humanities, social anthropology, human geography, international development, and participatory politics.
Andrew Connor
Lecturer in Design and Digital Media
Charlotte Gleghorn
Senior Lecturer in Latin American Film Studies
David Sorfa
Senior Lecturer in Film Studies
Emma Davie
Reader
Jonny Murray
Senior Lecturer in Film and Visual Culture
Jules Rawlinson
Senior Lecturer
Lotte Hoek
Professor of Cultural Anthropology
Merlyn Seller
Lecturer in Design and Screen Cultures
In addition to our work on the visual representation of data, cluster members analyse and design different kinds of digital media, including comics, games and immersive media. They also study how digital media shape the lived experiences, cultures and practices of users, including their interactions with space and place. Finally, cluster members are interested in using digital design to solve problems in the ‘real world’, as well as supporting those working in these areas within the creative industries in several ways, including investigating the application of copyright within online media.
Andrew Connor
Lecturer in Design and Digital Media
Ewa Luger
Chair of Human-Data Interaction
John Lee
Professor of Digital Media
Jules Rawlinson
Senior Lecturer
Lachlan Urquhart
Senior Lecturer in Technology Law and Human Computer Interaction
Merlyn Seller
Lecturer in Design and Screen Cultures
Nick Prior
Professor of Cultural Sociology
Rachael Craufurd Smith
Reader in EU Law
Richard Coyne
Professor of Architectural Computing
Robin Hill
Senior Laboratory Manager
We are interested in how data can be communicated through different kinds of media, how data structures different modes of digital communication, and the effects of data on other socio-economic practices. Our members design different ways to represent data visually, and to encourage ethical participation in the creation of data infrastructure and datasets. We also critique the ways in which algorithms and other kinds of data shape different forms of labour, surveillance, messaging, governance and accountability processes. Finally, our members study how data informs political activism and personal decision-making, as well as the policies of media and other organisations.
Benjamin Bach
Clare Llewellyn
Lecture in Governance, Technology and Data
Claudia Pagliari
Senior Lecturer
Corentin Curchod
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management and Organization
Ewa Luger
Chair of Human-Data Interaction
John Lee
Professor of Digital Media
Jules Rawlinson
Senior Lecturer
Lachlan Urquhart
Senior Lecturer in Technology Law and Human Computer Interaction
Laura Cram
Professor of European Politics and Director of NRLabs Neuropolitics Research
Robin Hill
Senior Laboratory Manager
Sarah Liu
Senior Lecturer in Gender and Politics
We define political communication broadly: researching the manifold ways in which media shape, and are shaped by, political processes. This includes analysing how social and mainstream media support or undermine effective political participation in Scotland and beyond. It also includes interrogating how media constructs relations between nation states, communities, genders, political parties and other interest groups, especially during armed conflict and post-conflict peace processes. Finally, the persuasive properties of media are a key area of investigation for our researchers, including so-called ‘fake news’, political protests, and other forms of mediated activism, including humanitarian and human rights advocacy.
Annika Bergman Rosamond
Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Gender
Ben Marder
Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Director of PGR Programmes
Charlotte Gleghorn
Senior Lecturer in Latin American Film Studies
Clare Llewellyn
Lecture in Governance, Technology and Data
Cristian Vaccari
Chair in Future Governance and Policy and Technology
Ebithal Mahadeen
Lecturer in Gender and Media Studies
Emma Hunter
Professor of Global and African History
George Karekwaivanane
Senior Lecturer in African Studies
Jean-Benoit Falisse
Senior Lecturer in African Studies and International Development
Julie Cupples
Professor and Personal Chair of Human Geography & Cultural Studies
Kate Wright
Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Media and Communication
Laura Cram
Professor of European Politics and Director of NRLabs Neuropolitics Research
Oliver Escobar
Chair of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation
Robin Hill
Senior Laboratory Manager
Sarah Liu
Senior Lecturer in Gender and Politics
Thomas Molony
Senior Lecturer in African Studies
Walid Magdy
Reader | Associate Professor | Founder and Director of Social Media Analysis and Support for Humanity
Work with us
We are open to potential collaborations with other institutions and/or industry partners.
We do not currently offer a Media Communications PhD however we can supervise related studies in our respective disciplines. We welcome contact from potential PhD candidates, who are invited to directly contact relevant researchers. In keeping with our interdisciplinary approach, we encourage applicants to consider having co-supervisors in different disciplines.
