Annenberg welcomes visiting scholars from institutions in London and Ireland
Monday, January 10, 2011
John Ellis, left, and Aphra KerrThe Scholars Program in Culture and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication welcomes two new visiting scholars for the Spring 2011 term: John Ellis, from the Royal Holloway University of London and Aphra Kerr, from the National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Annenberg’s Scholars Program in Culture and Communication showcases the critical role culture and communication play in shaping public life. By bringing academics to Penn from institutions throughout the world the program promotes dialogue on subjects form human rights to the geography of public places.
“This forum gives students and faculty the chance to examine the critical and social issues that lie at the intersection of culture and communication in a collaborative and dynamic environment,” said Barbie Zelizer, Ph.D., the Raymond Williams Professor of Communication at Annenberg and Director of the Scholars Program in Culture and Communication.
John Ellis is Professor of Media Arts at Royal Holloway University of London. His books include TV FAQ (IB Tauris 2007); Seeing Things (IB Tauris 2000); Visible Fictions (Routledge 1982); Language and Materialism (with Rosalind Coward, Routledge 1977). His Documentary: “Witness and Self-Revelation,” will be released in 2012.
Prof. Ellis’ research interests include the history and theory of television, and he leads two research projects enabling online access to archival TV. EUscreen involves 20 European archives and will be open to all; the consolidation of various databases held by the British Universities Film and Video Council (BUFVC) is a subscription-based service for teachers and researchers. Between 1982 and 1999 Prof. Ellis was a full-time TV producer, running an independent production company working mainly for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Projects included “Riding the Tiger” (1997 and 1998) on Hong Kong residents preparing for the handover to China; “Brazil: Beyond Citizen Kane” (1992) on the power of TV Globo; “The Holy Family Album” (1991), Angela Carter’s last work; “Visions” (1982-6) a series on film making around the world. He was vice-chair of PACT, the film and TV producers’ organismic, and is now chair of BUFVC.
Aphra Kerr has been researching the production, consumption and regulation of digital media on European and nationally funded projects for the past ten years. Current funded research projects include governance and user innovation in online games, future internet debates and cultural diversity and transnational media practices. Her publications include
The Business and Culture of Digital Games (Sage 2006) and she has had journal articles published in
Media, Culture and Society, New Media and Society, The International Journal of Cultural Studies, Convergence, Fibreculture and Information, Communication and Society. Prof. Kerr is on the editorial board of
Popular Communication, she is a founding member of the digital games research association DIGRA, a committee member of Women in Games (Europe) and she runs the community website in Ireland
www.gamedevelopers.ie.
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