Dr Christina Scharff

Christina explores gender, media and culture from an international perspective, through theoretically informed empirical research, and collaboration with colleagues and students. Before joining CMCI in 2010, Christina was Fellow in Contemporary Social Thought at the Sociology Department, London School of Economics. Christina has held various research grants from the Economic and Social Research Council and the British Academy.

Research Interests and PhD Supervision 

• Digital feminism
• Engagements with feminism
• Inequalities in the cultural and creative industries
• The classical music profession
• Entrepreneurial subjectivities and the psychic life of neoliberalism

Engagements with Feminism

Christina conducted empirical research on young women’s engagements with feminism, postfeminism and neoliberalism (ESRC) and participated in various collaborative projects, such as cooperative inquiry research on dilemmas of femininity (British Academy). Her work on engagements with feminism also includes research on the contemporary postfeminist and neoliberal era, media representations of feminism, and feminist activism in and beyond academia. With Carrie Smith-Prei and Maria Stehle, Christina co-edited the volume ‘Digital Feminisms: Transnational Activism in German Protest Cultures’ (London, Routledge).

The Politics of Cultural Work

Christina’s second area of expertise is in the field of cultural work. Her research project ‘Young, female and entrepreneurial? Exploring the working lives of young women in the classical music profession’ (British Academy/ESRC) addressed various timely issues, such as the racial, classed and gendered inequalities that characterise the classical music profession, the gendered politics of self-promotion, as well as the psychic life of neoliberalism and the subjective experiences of precarious work. The findings of the project are published in Christina's second monograph 'Gender, Subjectivity, and Cultural Work: The classical music profession' (London, Routledge).

Christina welcomes proposals for PhD research linked to her research interests.

For more details, please see her full research profile.

Teaching

Christina is passionate about teaching and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is the supervisor of several PhD students, has contributed to core modules on the MA in Cultural and Creative Industries, the BA in Culture, Media and Creative Industries, and taught the optional module Gender, Media and Culture at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Christina has also been invited internationally as a guest teacher for undergraduate and postgraduate courses and PhD workshops.

Expertise and Public Engagement

Christina’s work has appeared in a range of British and international media, such as the BBC, The Guardian, Die Zeit, The New York Times, and the Nikkei. She regularly speaks at academic and public events, nationally and internationally. Christina has also done consultancy work for policy-makers and has worked with cultural and public sector partners. 

Selected publications

Are we all influencers now? Feminist activists discuss the distinction between being an activist and an influencer

Creating content for Instagram: digital feminist activism and the politics of class

Feminist activists discuss practices of monetisation: digital feminist activism, neoliberalism, and subjectivity

Voices for change in the Classical Music Profession: New ideas for tackling inequalities and exclusions

Gender, subjectivity, and cultural work: The classical music profession