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Racism, anti-racism and the politics of popular culture

Hosted by the Department of Media and Communications

In-person and online public event (Old Theatre, Old Building)

Speakers

Professor Anamik Saha

Professor Anamik Saha

Dr Francesca Sobande

Dr Francesca Sobande

Chair

Professor Lee Edwards

Professor Lee Edwards

Racism and antiracism clash on a daily basis in media discourse. This joint talk reflects on current practices of "othering" in popular media and probes the nature and meaning of media diversity amidst far right appeals to media representation. These practices point to shifts in whom a plural media system can and ought to serve and why.

Francesca will discuss the pop culture portrayals of vampires, immortality, and the racial politics of desiring "demons", and Anamik will address the turn to diversity in media and the ascendency of the far right.

Meet our speakers and chair

Anamik Saha is Professor in Race and Media at the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds. He researches race, culture and media, with a focus on creative and cultural industries and ‘diversity’. His books include Race and the Cultural Industries and Race, Culture and Media. His latest book The Anti-Racist Media Manifesto is co-authored with Francesca Sobande and Gavan Titley.

Francesca Sobande (@Chess_Ess) is a writer and senior lecturer in digital media studies at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University. Her books include Big Brands Are Watching You: Marketing Social Justice and Digital Culture and Consuming Crisis: Commodifying Care and COVID-19. Her recent work includes the co-authored book The Anti-Racist Media Manifesto that is co-authored with Anamik Saha and Gavan Titley.

Lee Edwards (@leemoya) is Professor of Strategic Communications and Public Engagement in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE, where she also serves as Deputy Head of Department (Education) and Programme Director for the MSc Strategic Communications and Society. She teaches and researches public relations from a socio-cultural perspective, focusing in particular on how power operates in and through public relations work.

More about this event

This event will be available to watch on LSE Live. LSE Live is the new home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

The Department of Media and Communications (@MediaLSE) is a world-leading centre for education and research in communication and media studies at the heart of LSE’s academic community in central London. The Department is ranked #1 in the UK and #3 globally in the field of media and communications (2024 QS World University Rankings).

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From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.

How can I attend? Add to calendar

This public event is free and open to all. This event will be a hybrid event, with an in-person audience and an online audience. 

For the in-person event: No ticket or pre-registration is required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. For any queries see LSE Events FAQ.

For the online event: Registration for this event will open in the first half of January.

For any queries email events@lse.ac.uk.

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