Impact
CMCI research is marked by its engagement beyond the Academy. We have long-standing links with most of the leading cultural institutions in London, including Tate, the BBC, the BFI and the V&A, as well as charities, governmental bodies, NGOs, small and medium-sized creative enterprises and cultural and arts activist organisations.
Talks and public lectures
Scholars from CMCI give a wide range of talks and public lectures, outside the spaces of the University. These include – in the last year - Harvey Cohen’s talk at the BFI based on his recent book about Duke Ellington; Richard Howells’ public lecture at the National Portrait Gallery on celebrity photography; Christina Scharff's seminar to accompany the launch of the Cult of Beauty exhibition at the V&A; Rosalind Gill's keynote at the Vancouver Film Festival; and Andy Pratt's talk at NESTA.
Policy engagement
Research at the Centre has had a major impact on policy debates in London, nationally and internationally. CMCI is part of the UN Conference on Trade and Development's Creative Economy network, and Andy Pratt helped to draft the Creative Economy report produced by UNCTAD. He has also played a major role in developing the UNESCO Framework for cultural statistics and UNCTAD’s global databank of world trade creative goods and services.
Rosalind Gill has spoken in both Houses (of Parliament) concerning her work on sexualisation, and has also addressed the European Parliament on this issue. As a result of her profile she was commissioned by the NSPCC to work on a project concerned with ‘sexting’ and young people's use of mobile Internet technologies.
Publications
Research at the Centre makes significant impact through publications in high quality journals and books. Recent highlights include Harvey Cohen's book Duke Ellington's America, and Rosalind Gill and Christina Scharff's edited collection New Femininities. Our work in journals is amongst the most highly read and highly cited in the field.
CMCI events: bringing industry, policy makers and publics in
Scholars at the CMCI do not just go to events outside the University, but they also, crucially, invite people from industry, policy and other parts of public life back into King’s College to take part in debates that we are shaping. Recent highlights include Hye-Kyung Lee’s symposium on Cultural Consumers and Copyright ; Paul Sweetman’s discussion panel on portraiture, ethics and recognition; and Ofra Koffman’s sell-out symposium on Images, Publics and Health: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. In October 2011 Tim Jordan chaired a panel of journalists talking about the phone hacking scandal and Rosalind Gill’s ESRC funded seminar series on complicating the debates about the sexualisation of culture has also brought in artists, members of NGOs, activists and others.
Conferences and Keynotes
CMCI scholars attend a variety of academic conferences. In the last year staff have spoken around the world. We give regular keynote addresses. Recent examples include Richard Howells at the XXIVth Conference of the International Association for Media and History. In 2012 we will be presenting our research at the International Communications Association (Phoenix, Arizona), Crossroads in Cultural Studies (Paris), the International Gender and Language Association (San Leopoldo, Brazil)
Honours and prizes
In October 2010, Rosalind Gill's book Gender and the Media was awarded the IGALA biannual international book prize for the book that has made the most outstanding contribution to scholarship on gender and communication.
Andy Pratt was recently bestowed the honour of becoming elected as an Academician–a member of the Academy of Social Sciences.