Faculty of Arts School of Culture & Communication

Dr David Nolan

Lecturer, Media and Communications

Qualifications

BA Double Hons., English and Drama, University of Manchester, UK; Ph.D, RMIT University, Melbourne; Graduate Certificate of University Teaching, University of Melbourne.

Biography

David Nolan began working at the University of Melbourne in 2003, following the completion of his PhD at RMIT University, Melbourne.  His doctoral thesis focused on the role played by journalism in contributing to the rise, in the late 1990s, of the extreme-right politician Pauline Hanson.  In addition to providing an analysis of Hanson's media coverage, this research presented a theoretical perspective, strongly influenced by Michel Foucault's work on 'governmentality', on the role played by everyday practices of media representation in the constitution of both institutional and social politics. In 2007 David spent six months as an invited research fellow at the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Cardiff in Wales, and he is a serving editorial board member and reviews editor for the international refereed journal Communication, Politics and Culture.

Current research

David is currently working on a book project focused on the contribution of an emergent tradition of work on 'governmentality' makes for understanding the political role performed by media institutions and practices.  He is also currently involved in comparative research (with Tim Marjoribanks in the School of Political Science, Criminology and Sociology) that focuses on how definitions of expertise and authority in journalism are historically defined, and the consequences of how these are currently being redefined in light of the impact of sociocultural, institutional, political and technological developments.  In addition, David has recently been involved in research focused on the complex relations that exist between humanitarian aid agencies, media institutions, and forms of public knowledge and response to humanitarian issues and events.

Research interests

David is particularly interested in how the social role of media institutions and practitioners is socially defined and contested, the relation of such processes to various areas of media practice, and their impacts on institutional and social politics and consequences for particular subjects and populations.  His work and interests particularly revolve around developments within, and impacting on, the field of journalism, both locally and internationally.  He is also interested in the contribution forms social and political theory can make to understanding practices of media production, and the role these play within shifting formations of public life. 

Teaching

Full subject descriptions are available on the University of Melbourne Handbook.

Publications

Book chapters

Refereed Journal articles

Refereed Conference papers

top of page