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Jonathan Gross

Dr Jonathan Gross

Senior Lecturer in Culture, Media & Creative Industries

Biography

Jonathan joined the Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries (CMCI) in 2015, following posts at the universities of Leeds and Sheffield. Drawing on his interdisciplinary background in cultural studies, audience studies, and the history of political thought – his work addresses questions of cultural policy, cultural participation, and cultural politics.

In projects supported by funders including the AHRC and Horizon 2020, he has conducted research in collaboration with policy makers, cultural organisations, and communities across the UK and internationally. These include Developing Inclusive & Sustainable Creative Economies (Horizon 2020) and Future Festivals South Africa: Possibilities for the Age of COVID-19 (AHRC). His projects also include an oral history of the UK government’s internationally influential Creative Industries Mapping Document. He is currently writing a book on how art and culture enable hope – and contest what can be hoped for – in times of crisis.

Jonathan is Department Education Lead, and was previously Programme Director for the MA Arts & Cultural Management. His activities as a teacher and as a researcher – including his work on hope – are closely interconnected. He supports students to engage critically and creatively with culture, media, and creative industries as they are – and as they could be.

Research Interests and PhD Supervision

  • Cultural policy
  • Cultural participation
  • Culture & hope
  • Culture & crisis
  • Culture & care

Jonathan’s work has been published in a wide range of reports, edited collections, and journals including Arts and the Market, Cultural Trends, European Journal of Cultural Studies, International Journal of Cultural Policy, and Participations. He has also co-edited a special issue of Futures. For further details, please see his full research profile.

Jonathan welcomes PhD applications connected to his areas of research.

Teaching

Jonathan teaches on a wide range of modules within the department’s BA and MA programmes. He has taught previously at the University of Sheffield, the University of Leeds, and Birkbeck, University of London. From 2019-23 he was an external examiner at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

Expertise and Public Engagement

Jonathan is a regular contributor to discussions beyond academia. He has shared his research with cultural practitioners and policy makers internationally and across the UK, including at events held at Barbican Centre, CBSO Centre Birmingham, Cheltenham Music Festival, Museum of London, and West Yorkshire Playhouse – and via articles for outlets such as Arts Professional. He has organised many events bringing together researchers and participants beyond academia – addressing topics including cultural democracy, cultural ecosystems, and ‘politics of doom, politics of hope’. He was a member of the organising committee for the 2019 conference of the Human Development and Capability Association, held in the UK for the first time.

Selected publications

  • Gross, J. and Wilson, N. (2020) ‘The Green New Deal and Cultural Policy’. In Oakley, K. and Banks, M. (Eds.) Cultural Industries and the Environmental Crisis: New Approaches for Policy. New York: Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-49384-4_11
  • Gross, J. (2020) ‘Holding Together Loss and Hope: Reflections on the Need for Art in Times of Crisis’. Journal of Psychosocial Studies. Vol 13 (2), pp. 209-217. https://doi.org/10.1332/147867320X15894731588869
  • Gross, J. (2020) The Birth of the Creative Industries Revisited: An Oral History of the 1998 DCMS Mapping Document. London: King’s College London. doi.org/10.18742/pub01-017
  • Gross, J. (2019) ‘Practices of Hope: Care, Narrative and Cultural Democracy’. International Journal of Cultural Policy. DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2019.1702032
  • Gross, J. and Wilson, N. (2018) ‘Cultural Democracy: an Ecological and Capabilities Approach’. International Journal of Cultural Policy. 26:3, 328-343, DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2018.1538363

    News

    Report highlights creative role of cultural policy in 'post-COVID' city recovery

    A new report from King’s in collaboration with the World Cities Culture Forum analyses how city policymakers around the world supported culture through the...

    report cover with title and image of child wearing facemask playing in busy street

    Towards Cultural Democracy: Live at the Barbican

    Dr Nick Wilson and Dr Jonathan Gross presented a new report at the Barbican Centre this week as part of their Towards Cultural Democracy project.

    Caring for Cultural Freedom

    New report sheds light on the birth of the Creative Industries

    Addressing the moment at which the ‘creative industries’ were defined and measured for the first time, The Birth of the Creative Industries Revisited report...

    Four people participating in a panel discussion.

    Events

    09MarWizkid - Afrobeat article - Wizkid @ Rolling Loud Toronto

    Future Festivals South Africa: Lessons from the Age of Covid-19

    A discussion of project work examining support for festival organisations during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    07MarAbstract art miro

    Africa Week Keynote: Capturing value in the cultural and creative economies in Africa

    Jen Snowball discusses how cultural policy focus has shifted since the end of apartheid, and new ways in which the value of arts, cultural and heritage can be...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    07Decchildren-backpacks

    Cultural policy and the politics of hope

    Dr Jonathan Gross shares insights from his research with arts and cultural organisations working with young people.

    Please note: this event has passed.

      News

      Report highlights creative role of cultural policy in 'post-COVID' city recovery

      A new report from King’s in collaboration with the World Cities Culture Forum analyses how city policymakers around the world supported culture through the...

      report cover with title and image of child wearing facemask playing in busy street

      Towards Cultural Democracy: Live at the Barbican

      Dr Nick Wilson and Dr Jonathan Gross presented a new report at the Barbican Centre this week as part of their Towards Cultural Democracy project.

      Caring for Cultural Freedom

      New report sheds light on the birth of the Creative Industries

      Addressing the moment at which the ‘creative industries’ were defined and measured for the first time, The Birth of the Creative Industries Revisited report...

      Four people participating in a panel discussion.

      Events

      09MarWizkid - Afrobeat article - Wizkid @ Rolling Loud Toronto

      Future Festivals South Africa: Lessons from the Age of Covid-19

      A discussion of project work examining support for festival organisations during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      07MarAbstract art miro

      Africa Week Keynote: Capturing value in the cultural and creative economies in Africa

      Jen Snowball discusses how cultural policy focus has shifted since the end of apartheid, and new ways in which the value of arts, cultural and heritage can be...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      07Decchildren-backpacks

      Cultural policy and the politics of hope

      Dr Jonathan Gross shares insights from his research with arts and cultural organisations working with young people.

      Please note: this event has passed.