Research Interests
Open to PhD applications in:
- Gothic / horror, science fiction, fantasy in and across media
- Representations of history in media.
- History of media, particularly in the UK
Public outreach & key achievements
Miskatonic Institute, Yuletide Terror: Christmas Horror on Film and Television, 14 December 2017, Horse Hospital, London, UK, invited speaker.
‘Writing and Rewriting Broadcast Traditions’, blog entry for the QUB Centre for Public History blog
“Why the Ghost Story at Christmas”, in Paul Corupe and Kier-La Janisse, eds., Yuletide Terror: Christmas Horror on Film and Television, Toronto: Spectacular Optical, 2017
A Lincoln Ghost Story Evening, 27 November 2017, Lincoln, UK, invited speaker -
Telling Stories of Hope and Fear at Year’s End, Being Human Festival 2016 event, Queen’s University Belfast, 23 November 2016 – with Dr Darran McCann
‘Being Human event on Seasonal Ghost Stories’, with Darren McCann, Vanessa Hynes, Belfast 89FM, 11 November 2016
‘Seasonal Horror discussion’, Amber Hammill, Belfast 89FM, 15 December 2015
The Christmas Ghost Story: Tradition, Time and Television, 3 December 2015, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK, invited speaker
‘Why Ghosts Haunt England at Christmas but Steer Clear of America’, The Conversation, 15 December 2014 - https://theconversation.com/why-ghosts-haunt-england-at-christmas-but-steer-clear-of-america-34629
Introduction to screening of Logan’s Run, 10 November 2014, Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast, UK
Introduction to screening of Westworld, 27 October 2014, Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast, UK
The History of the Blockbuster, public panel debate at the World Science Fiction Convention 2014, London, UK - https://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/en/activities/the-history-of-the-blockbuster(4c71e936-d97c-470f-b5a9-84a947d37ad0).html
Introduction to screening of The Innocents, 16 December 2013, Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast, UK
Introduction to screening of Pan’s Labyrinth, 11 November 2010, Cinema City, Norwich, UK
Discussion of Sad Pralad (Tropical Malady), 3 May 2010, The Forum, Norwich, UK
Introduction to screening of Notorious, 28 March 2009, Cinema City, Norwich, UK
Introduction to screening of Them!, 18 November 2007, Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, UK
Research students
| PhD area | Fade in Mirror: Analysis of Characteristics of Hong Kong Horror Films from the 1980s to 2000s and Their Reflection on the Construction and Loss of Hong Kong Identity |
| Name | Ma Xiaoxiang |
| Years of study | 2024 - present (primary supervisor) |
| PhD area | The Representation of Zen in Audio-Visual Media |
| Name | Yao Tianpeng |
| Years of study | 2022 - present (PhD by practice-based research, secondary supervisor) |
Alumni: Where are they now
| PhD area | Crouching at the door: The Devil's Doorway and firsts in Northern Irish and female horror filmmaking |
| Name | Dr Aislinn Clarke |
| Years of study | 2022-23 (PhD by prior publication, second supervisor) |
| Current position | Film writer / director; lecturer in Creative Writing, Queen's University Belfast |
| PhD area | BBC Northern Ireland Drama and Features Programming 1924-1956: Development, Identity, and Cultural History |
| Name | Dr Portia Ellis-Woods |
| Years of study | 2014-2018 |
| Current position | Business Engagement Officer, Queen's University Belfast |
Discover More
- Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Arts, English and Languages
- Centre for Public History
- Knowledge Commons profile: https://hcommons.org/members/derekjohnston/