Communication, Cultural and Media Studies Research Group

Description

The Communication, Cultural and Media Studies Research Group’s aim is to analyse the content, operation and impact of the media and new technologies including new media, immersive media and social media, as well as the role of culture and identity in shaping public policy at local, national and international levels.

Research from the Group is hugely varied and falls into two thematic clusters with several core themes below.

1. Journalism, Media and Communication

• Use of new and emerging technologies in business, education and society
• Film, documentary, and film-making
• Reporting death, trauma and war

2. Culture, Identity and Policy

• Identity discourse, security and peace
• Tourism, travel, culture and heritage
• Music, ethnomusicology and identity
• Culture, society and sports
• Age, gender and sexuality

The work from the Group draws on the relevant research specialisms across three Faculties (Faculty of Arts, Professional and Social Studies, Faculty of Business and Law, Faculty of Science) and five Schools (Liverpool Screen School, School of Humanities and Social Science, School of Education, Liverpool Business School, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences), bringing together a diverse community of researchers, which helps promote interdisciplinarity.

The research within the Group includes both theoretical and traditional research and practice-based research, such as immersive 360-degree documentary, documentary films, radio programmes, and performance of adaptation for stage.

In the 2021 research assessment exercise (Research Excellence Framework 2021), 54% of the research submitted by the Communication, Cultural and Media Studies Research Group was rated as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*) in terms of its originality, significance and rigour, whilst the remaining 46% was rated as internationally or nationally recognised. Furthermore, 33% of the Impact Case Studies submitted for assessment was judged as having outstanding impact (4*) or very considerable impact (3*) in terms of their reach and significance.

For the Research Excellence Framework 2021 cycle, the size and research expertise of each cluster within the Research Group have expanded considerably. The total number of staff submitted to the Research Excellence Framework has increased from 13 in 2013 to 32 in 2020.

Over the past few years, the Group has made considerable advances in facilitating and developing multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, international research and collaboration with a wide range of external partners in the UK and around the world. This vibrant and dynamic research environment has resulted in the production of high-quality research outputs with significant impact nationally and internationally, increased generation of external funding and a growing postgraduate research community.

A major interdisciplinary collaborative initiative from this Research Group is the East Asian Security and Peace Project, which analyses the role of identity in shaping foreign policy discourse and security relations in East Asia. Funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Science), this project is linked to a £2.3 million research programme based in Sweden, involving a multidisciplinary team of scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Another important interdisciplinary project focuses on Brexit and tourism, which has resulted in a major book publication in 2020. A third project on the writer Malcolm Lowry has raised the profile of Lowry as a writer born on Merseyside. The project has made Lowry’s life and works accessible to new audiences through a wide range of public activities, including guided local walks, illustrated talks, film screenings, a conference, and new artistic commissions. Some researchers from the Group are involved with the Liverpool Film Seminar Series.

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

Contact details

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Categorisation

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Project Tags

University affiliation(s)

Liverpool John Moores University
Merseyside

Partner Infrastructures

Institute of Art and Technology

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Institute of Cultural Capital (ICC)

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