Surveillance, Digital Technologies, and the Representation of Childhood in Contemporary Media and Literature

CoRA (Centre of Research in the Arts) at Oxford Brookes University invites proposals for MA by Research projects investigating how contemporary media and literature portray children and youth in the context of digital surveillance. Focusing on how technologies monitor and regulate children’s bodies and identities, the proposed studies will be supported to explore representations of surveillance in educational and domestic spaces. This could include examples from across the media landscape, including modern film, television, literature and beyond, examining the cultural implications of digitised youth in today’s culture. 

Drawing on insights from Surveillance Studies, Childhood Studies, Media Studies, and Medical Humanities, the projects within this field will consider how digital technologies influence our understanding of childhood. Project areas could include, but are not limited to: 

Surveillance in Educational Spaces: Exploring how schools employ digital tools such as facial recognition, attendance tracking apps, and learning analytics, and how these technologies shape perceptions of children’s autonomy, privacy, and agency.

Domestic Surveillance and Parenting: Investigating the use of monitoring devices, smart home technologies, and parental control apps, and their impact on parent-child relationships, trust, and the boundaries of childhood privacy within the home.

Representation of Surveillance in Children’s Literature and Media: Analysing how contemporary books, films, television shows, and video games aimed at children and young adults depict surveillance technologies, and the ways these narratives shape cultural discourses around childhood, privacy, and control.

Queer and Marginalised Childhoods Under Surveillance: Exploring how digital surveillance practices differentially impact marginalized children and youth, particularly in terms of race, gender identity, sexuality, and disability, and how these identities intersect with digital surveillance systems.

Projects in this area will be supervised by Dr Antonia Mackay, expert in surveillance studies and the application of technology to identity formation, as part of a supervisory team composed according to the specific project. 

Mode: Full time (1 year) or part time (2 years).