Research

Research Distinction

The department of Theatre, Film and Television is research led and its founder members included staff from the departments of English and Sociology, ranked first and first equal in the UK respectively in their subject categories in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

This level of distinction has been maintained as the department’s body of academic staff has grown and we can proudly boast a number of internationally recognised researchers and creative practitioners working at the cutting edge of their various fields.

Subject Groupings and Overarching Research Themes

The department comprises three research groupings based on particular areas of subject expertise:

  • Theatre: Political theatres, including terror, human rights, holocaust drama, verbatim; theatre history and performance traditions - Early Modern, 19th centuries to the present day; theory and practice of acting and directing; cultural and institutional constructions of actor training; dramaturgy, playwriting and play analysis; comedy; theatre and the real (actors playing real people).
  • Film and Television: National and transnational cinema; emotion and affect in television and the internet; television and ethics; new technology and the production process; the history and contribution of film schools; realism and formalism in fiction and documentary film-making; film and contemporary politics and culture   
  • Sound Design: sound design and its applications, 3-D sound

There are also overarching research themes that intersect the main groupings:

  • Production processes, crafts, techniques, sites, spaces and places in theatre, film and television 
  • Education, training and the formation of new practitioners in theatre, film and television 
  • The impact and potential of new digital technologies in the production and consumption of film, television and other media
  • Politics, conflict and human rights in drama and documentary
  • Media and Identity 
  • Narrative/Storytelling/Adaptation

Current Externally Funded Projects

Transinstitutional Mixed Learning Models: Understanding and Performing Classical and Modern Play-texts.

‘Performing Classical and Modern Play-texts’ is a uniquely ambitious knowledge exchange scheme between the University of Bristol, the Central School of Speech and Drama, the Manchester Theatre School at MMU, RADA, and the University of York. The project uses the discipline of drama, specifically workshop, monitored and autonomous practice methodologies, as a vehicle for creating new transinstitutional teaching and learning cultures and links between industry and HE. Project leader: Professor Mary Luckhurst. More information can be found on the project website or on the HEA website.

There's more information on staff research interests on the individual staff pages.

Research Related Activities

The department regularly runs symposia, seminars and other events to disseminate and develop on-going research projects, and keeps an archive of past activities.


 

Related links

The working community of staff and students provides a supportive and stimulating environment for scholarly debate and investigation. At the same time, the Department offers opportunities to interact with theatre, film and television practitioners, and has the resources to facilitate practical experimentation alongside academic study.

Chris Hogg, PhD, Television