Communication Studies Staff

David Savat

While much of my background is in political theory and poststructuralist thought more generally, much of my current research is focused on digital culture. Currently my main interest here is in examining the impact of digital technologies on the construction of subjectivity and our conceptualisation thereof. It is in this context that my research focuses on, for example, the use of consumer databases, the role of the interface, and how people act in and on global networks of communication such as the Internet. While this research forms part of a book I am preparing for publication, The Digitisation of Politics, I am also currently working on an edited collection on Deleuze and New Technology.

He is the Coordinator of the BA (Communications Studies).

Ian Saunders

Chantal Bourgault

Tauel Harper

Tauel’s research interests are oriented around critical theory and he believes firmly that good communication can make the world a better place. Subsequently much of his research focuses on what constitutes good communication and how good communication can be used to solve contemporary environmental, social and economic problems. His doctorate examined the effects of media upon democratic systems, focussing upon the influence of the internet upon the public sphere. Tauel’s other research interests include the relationship between technology and subjectivity, mass media and policy, and research methods and advertising.

Tauel has recently returned to WA from Liverpool where, amongst other things, he taught international aid workers how to change government policy through the media.

Tama Leaver

Tama primarily teaches on digital media and participatory culture.  He completed his PhD in 2006, entitled ‘Artificialities: From Artificial Intelligence to Artificial Culture’ and has published in a variety of journals and collections, including Media International Australia, Comparative Literature Studies and a chapter in the collection Cylons in America.

His research interests fall into four overlapping fields: artificial subjectivity (which examines the intersection between technology, people, embodiment and the way these intersections plays out in popular culture); digital culture (which includes participatory culture, blogs, social networking including Facebook, copyright, the Creative Commons and citizen journalism); the tyranny of digital distance (which includes convergence culture, television studies, film studies, and online models of production and distribution, especially from an Australian perspective); and participatory pedagogies (which includes teaching and learning in higher education, open educational resources (OER), elearning, flexible delivery, podcasting, web 2.0 tools, and alternative approaches to learning).

Most of Tama’s publications can be found online, and he blogs at Tama Leaver dot Net.

Larissa Sexton-Finck

I am a screenwriter and director and have recently written my first feature film, which I hope to direct in the next few years. My current research interests include autoethnography, character-centred cinema, film feminism, and French poststructuralism, with a particular focus on the representation of female subjectivity and agency in and on screen.

David Denemark

Leitha Delves