Glasgow School for Bussiness and Society
Applications are invited for a full-time, competition-funded PhD research studentship at Glasgow Caledonian University within the Glasgow School for Business and Society, division of Media and Journalism.
Project description:
This PhD project arises out of discussions concerning the limited range of representations of serious illness in film and TV narratives. For example, stroke, despite being a leading cause of disability in the Western world, has almost no presence in contemporary screen narratives.
The situation is even worse with media depictions of obstetric and gynaecological issues; mainly because of the socio-cultural resistance to showing the female body as being less than ‘perfect’.
The aim of this project is to map existing narrative representations of illnesses on screen such as stroke, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and gynaecological/urogynecological conditions as well as to develop a series of recommendations, via research involving consultation with health professionals, for improving future narrative representations of serious illness on screen. Representative texts to be analysed may include the following: films Philadelphia (1993) and the recent Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) for depictions of AIDS; BBC TV series Bodies (wr.: Jed Mercurio, 2004-6) for gynaecological issues; works of screenwriter Dennis Potter for psychological explorations of serious illness (psoriatic arthropathy: The Singing Detective, BBC TV 1986; cancer: Karaoke and Cold Lazarus, BBC TV and Channel 4, 1996); the single TV drama Care (BBC TV, 2018) for stroke. Frederike Van Wijck, Professor of Neurological Rehabilitation within the School of Health and Life Sciences at GCU, will act as a consultant on the project.
The project directly relates to the following aspects of GCU’s research strategy: (i) Inclusive Societies and (ii) Healthy Lives and in particular to the theme of ‘Social Justice, Equalities and Communities’ focusing on inclusiveness, identity and cultural citizenship with reference to socio-cultural analysis of media practice and the enhancement of the evidence base for future initiatives and interventions in this field; as well as to public health, in terms of the management of long-term conditions.
Supervisor Research Profiles
Director of Studies: Dr. Helena Bassil-Morozow
GCU Research Online URL: http://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/helena-bassilmorozow(7249df3f-d70f-4aa6-bbaf-13630d622086).html
2nd Supervisor: Prof. John Cook
GCU Research Online URL: http://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/john-cook(837514aa-9398-410e-9770-75c9de052f0a).html
This project is available as a 3 years full-time PhD study programme with expected start date of 1 October 2019
Candidates are encouraged to contact the research supervisors for the project before applying.
Link to the project: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/screen-narrative-representations-of-serious-illness/?p108778
