Sian Barber
I am standing for election to the IAMHIST Council and feel I have a great deal to offer to this role and to this organisation. I am a Reader in Film at Queen’s University Belfast and am a film historian with expertise in censorship, film history and British cinema. I have been a member of IAMHIST since 2011 when I attended my first conference in Copenhagen. More recently I attended the Montreal conference in 2023, and the masterclass hosted at the IFI in Dublin in January 2024. If I have also published in the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television and reviewed work for the journal.
My recent research focuses on local censorship in Britain and draws on archival materials from around 50 local council archives as well as collections held at PRONI and the National Archives at Kew. This research was published as Beyond the BBFC: local and regional film censorship in the UK in April 2025 by Manchester University Press. My previous work includes explorations of 1970s British cinema, of the British Board of Film Classification Archives in the 1970s, and a study guide Using Film as a Source (2015). I am part of the NI Archives working group and on the editorial board of VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture and the Journal of British Cinema and Television.
At Queen’s I am the Athena SWAN champion for Arts, English and Languages with a responsibility for promoting gender equality throughout the school and the institution. I am also the University Coordinator for the Humanities Access programmes which are delivered in collaboration with local FE colleges in Northern Ireland and constitute an important part of the University’s widening participation agenda.
I would like to bring all this expertise to help support the ongoing work of IAMHIST.
Nicholas J. Cull
I am a media historian from Britain, educated at the University of Leeds (BA/PhD). Since 2005 I have served as professor of public diplomacy at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. I’ve focused on the role of propaganda in foreign policy and have written especially on British propaganda in World War Two, US propaganda and public diplomacy during the Cold War and the global media battle over Apartheid in South Africa. My media history publications include two volumes (with James Chapman) on popular film as a historical sources, focused on images of the future and representations of Empire.
I have been involved in IAMHIST since 1985 and first joined the council in the mid-1990s. I have often published in the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television and served as its reviews editor for some years. From 2005 to 2019 I served as IAMHIST president. While as a past president I can technically attend council meetings, I am seeking a mandate to vote on important issues. My priorities have always been to promote mentorship of young scholars and inclusivity at conferences. I oversaw the creation of the IAMHIST masterclasses and ensured that mentoring sessions were built into all IAMHIST conferences. I organized and hosted the IAMHIST conference in Leicester in 2003 and a smaller gathering in Los Angeles in 2015. I live in Los Angeles and hope to host a biennial IAMHIST conference there at some point in the future.
James Fenwick
I’ve been a co-editor of the association’s journal, the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, since 2024, and I’m an ongoing ordinary member of IAMHIST. I’ve contributed numerous articles and book reviews to the HJFRT since 2015 and served on the jury for the David Culbert Prize in 2025. I’m a media historian based in the University of Manchester’s Institute for Cultural Practices. I’m also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and Academic Delegate for The National Archives’ User Advisory Group. I specialise in histories of British and American film, television, and popular culture.
My research includes a focus on the life and work of Stanley Kubrick (Stanley Kubrick Produces, Rutgers UP 2020), the phenomenon of unmade film and television (Unproduction Studies and the American Film Industry, Routledge 2021), film festivals, and archives of popular culture (Archive Histories: An Archaeology of the Stanley Kubrick Archive, Liverpool University Press 2024). My work has been published in journals such as the HJFRT, Feminist Media Studies, Television & New Media, Screen, New Review of Film and Television Studies, and Screening the Past. I’m currently completing a monograph on the life and work of Michael Palin and initiating a new project on the life and work of cultural entrepreneur Tony Wilson, using the British Pop Archive at the University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library.
I’m standing for election to ensure a continued link between the council and the HJFRT. I would also like to use my role on the council to build further bridges between the archival and academic professions and to consider ways of collaborating and sharing good practice. I’ve experience in this area, having previously collaborated with colleagues in the Stanley Kubrick Archive, co-convening conferences (Disrupting Dominance in the Archives, 2022) and co-editing edited collections and special issues.
Tobias Hochscherf
As a longstanding member of the IAMHIST council and serving as your Vice President since 2020, I have had the privilege of contributing to our organisation’s growth and development. My efforts have included assisting as co-editor of our esteemed journal, the Historical Journal for Film, Radio and Television, and helping with the organization of several IAMHIST prizes and events, including the 2022 IAMHIST conference in Germany on the crucial theme of ‘Conflict Resolution and the Media’.
In case we have never met in person during one of our events, perhaps I should briefly introduce myself. I studied in Hamburg, Kiel and Liverpool and worked in broadcast journalism and filmmaking. With this diverse academic background, I have taught in both media studies and media production. My research focuses on various aspects of media history, including transnational production cultures. Following a position as senior lecturer at Northumbria University in the UK, I am now a professor for audiovisual media at Kiel University of Applied Sciences in Germany. I am associate editor for the Journal of Popular Television and member of the editorial board of the Journal of Scandinavian Cinema.
My career, dedicated to the intersection of audiovisual media and historical inquiry, has benefitted from IAMHIST’s vibrant international network. This association has given me – and many others – a platform for intellectual debate and the exchange of ideas across disciplinary and professional boundaries – an ethos I deeply cherish and wish to continue fostering.
Moving forward, I envision an IAMHIST that more vigorously involves practitioners and early career researchers, strengthening our community and ensuring its vibrancy for the future. We must believe in and work for the continued importance of intellectual debate, discussion, and exchange. Let us strive to break down barriers, fostering a truly inclusive environment that welcomes fresh perspectives and voices to our ranks. With your support, I am eager to lead and collaborate on these initiatives, ensuring IAMHIST remains a beacon for those of us passionate about exploring history through the lens of media.
Veronica Johnson
I am co-editor and book review editor for the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. I have a longstanding commitment to IAMHIST; in addition to presenting at all conferences since 2017, I have presented at the Masterclass, organised a IAMHIST Challenge workshop on Researching Cinema in World War 1, and presented at the IAMHIST seminar on Media Histories of World War 1 during the pandemic. My research focuses on early cinema especially in relation to female film pioneers, the development of cinema as an institution and the history of the Film Company of Ireland, the first indigenous Irish film company. My work has been published in the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Alphaville Journal of Film and Media amongst others.
I am standing in this election in part to continue to give back to an organisation that has given me so much, and in particular to offer a focused and practical forum for early career scholars who often have a blended or peripatetic career. I would like to develop the existing resources of IAMHIST in this area to construct a database of funding opportunities for members as well as developing the early career scholar network within the membership. Having worked closely with archivists from the Irish Film Institute for the IAMHIST Challenge I am also keen to develop further connections between archivists and scholars and archivists/scholars and scholars/archivists.
Richard Legay
I am a lecturer and a postdoctoral researcher in French Studies at the University of Göttingen, and an Associated Member at the Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut in Freiburg. My research interests include the mediatisation of memory debates, the restitution of cultural heritage, broadcasting history, and popular culture.
My engagement with IAMHIST activities has brought me a lot over the years. From valuable feedback during my doctoral studies to great contacts at events, which led to new research projects and publications later on, I have greatly benefited from being an active member of the association since 2018. And I now stand for reelection as Council Member to keep backing its goals and activities for the next 4 years. My primary aim is to support PhD students and early-career researchers and media practitioners through the association’s various events. As a junior scholar myself, it is essential for me that our voices, aspirations, and needs are represented on the Council, and I believe that we would gain from even more specific workshops or transnational networking activities.
Even before my election as Council Member in 2021, I have actively engaged in all of the association’s various activities, with a strong attachment to the annual Masterclass, which has always been a personal favourite. Furthermore, whether for research or teaching purposes, I am eager to go beyond the ‘usual suspects’ when it comes to Media History, by looking into sometimes overlooked media, transnational connections, and cross-media dynamics. These elements are key to my own work, and I intend to keep encouraging such an approach within IAMHIST. Additionally, I believe our association greatly benefits from integrating perspectives outside of its habitual networks and scholarships. This is why I joined the Organising Committee for the 2025 IAMHIST Conference ‘Decentering Media Histories & Practices’ at the University of Cape Town. I am looking forward to seeing many of you in South Africa.
Alessandra Luciano
Serving on the IAMHIST Council is not just a responsibility — it’s an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of media history, foster dynamic scholarship, and build meaningful connections with professionals who share a deep commitment to history, media, and technology. I am deeply motivated to contribute to the Association and Council’s vision, support innovative initiatives, and be an active voice in the evolving conversation around the role of media and history in today’s world — especially in regards to emerging technologies and new modes of storytelling and research.
As someone with a strong footing in digital archiving, I see immense potential in how we can reimagine the preservation and accessibility of media history. My ongoing involvement with IAMHIST — particularly as a non-academic member — reflects my belief that diverse perspectives are essential in driving the association forward. I am passionate about bridging the gap between scholarship and practice, and I believe that my work can help shape the association’s future in meaningful ways.
In my role as Head of Digital Strategy for Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture in Luxembourg, I’ve had the privilege of engaging with the IAMHIST community. The historians, archivists, and educators I’ve met have not only inspired me personally but also enriched my professional practice — insights I’ve carried back into the communities I serve every day.
IAMHIST has always thrived on cross-discipline collaborations. I am committed to strengthening those bonds and contributing to a vibrant, forward-looking association that continues to push boundaries in the study, preservation, and future of media history.
Lawrence Napper
I am currently a Senior Lecturer in the films studies department at Kings College London. I have been publishing on film history since 1998, with particular interests in British Cinema before 1960, Cinema and War, and Silent Cinema.
I have contributed to IAMHIST in various ways over the years, peer reviewing for the journal, and presenting at the conference. In 2018 I wrote a well regarded blog for the website responding to Peter Jackson’s use of archive footage in his ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ and I subsequently spoke on this topic at the 2019 conference in Newcastle and at the 2020 masterclass in Cork.
I passionately support the mission of IAMHIST and am a vocal and practical advocate for the importance of film as historical evidence and of history as the key to understanding cinema and its influence on modern life. My research centrally combines these two disciplines and I frequently present at both history and film studies conferences. As a member of the board I would stand for unity across the various interests of the membership, and would act as a powerful advocate for the aims of IAMHIST to other organisations and professional bodies.
I trained as a film archivist on the UEA film archiving MA in 1997 and was awarded my PhD in 2001. Currently at KCL I deliver teaching on early film history and a specific module designed to introduce students to researching film history and using archival sources. I have good experience organising conferences and symposiums at KCL and for many years ran the annual British Silent Film Festival Symposium event.
Presently I am involved in curating a strand for the Pordenone silent film festival on the importance of tramway systems in the development of urban spaces at the start of the C20th. This is part of a wider research project on tram networks, friendship networks and the development of the municipal city.
Nana Ota
I am an associate professor specializing in Japanese radio history at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken).
My journey to know the value and beauty of researching media history started when I decided to enter a boarding high school in the States. It was the journey to pursue the dream of my dearest mother, who was once suggested to stay home rather than to study abroad because she is a woman. I majored in cultural anthropology at Wheaton College (in Massachusetts) and did my field work in Tanzania and Bhutan, where I met women trying to make their way in their society without complaining.
My encounters with these women of unheard voices led me to write a Ph.D. thesis at the University of Tokyo on Japanese radio broadcasting during the American Occupation (1945-1952). One of its chapters was published as “The Voiceful Voiceless: Rethinking the Inclusion of the Public Voice in Radio Interview Programs in Occupied Japan” (2019) in Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. This wonderful opportunity of writing for and hearing back from the international audience encouraged me to join IAMHIST and physically attend the IAMHIST Conference 2023 “FUTURE [of] ARCHIVES” where I presented the value of re-listening to the post-war Japanese female voices today.
Now I, having gone through these experiences, would like to become a researcher who not only studies but also can truly represent the group of people struggling with raising their voices. If chosen, I will be abided by the IAMHIST Statement of Diversity to make this association more international as well as voiceful. I feel ready to support the council from my geographical location Kyoto, Japan (East Asia) and also from my unique Japan-US cultural background.
Sandeep Ray
I found IAMHIST during my doctoral years. It was a place where media and history spoke to each other the way I needed. Since then, I have written for Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, reviewed for it, and participated in the 2021 seminar on Media and World War Two.
My work in historical film sources began in 1994. I spent three years working with the massive !Kung San ethnographic film archives, now housed precariously at the Smithsonian. While academia came much later, that early work taught me that moving images are not just pictures — they are history itself.
I wrote Celluloid Colony (NUS, 2021) on Dutch colonial propaganda in the East Indies (now Indonesia). I later published on the first Indonesian hajj captured on film (Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 43:4) and edited a special issue of positions: asia critique (Duke, 2023) on media and violence across Asia.
Currently, I’m developing a second book project, tentatively titled Retribution and Reconciliation: The Return of Colonial Cameras, exploring post-war Southeast Asian media through previously unreleased films from Japanese-occupied Southeast Asia. This summer, I will be a fellow at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies to push the work further. I will be presenting some of this work in Cape Town in June.
The world is drowning in newly digitised and exhumed films and images now. As we navigate what has been called the “second Gutenberg shift,” I want to help build the tools we need to read these images better, widen the sources we use, and tell fuller, truer, more diverse histories.
If elected to the Council, I will work with members to make historical media studies stronger and more global. I am currently the Head of the School of Humanities at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia.