Roehampton’s expert on women’s makeover culture joins forces with Gok Wan
- Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Dr Theodora Thomadaki, expert in reality TV, lifestyle media, post-feminism and psychoanalytic theory, is holding a one day symposium at Roehampton with keynote talks by multi-award winning TV presenter and fashion expert Gok Wan, and Associate Professor of Fashion Dr Shaun Cole (Winchester School of Art).
Supported by the Centre for Research in Film and Audio-Visual Cultures, and in association with the Fashion, Costume and Visual Cultures (FCVC) Network, the symposium will combine keynote papers and panels discussing, exploring and debating current conversations on makeover narratives, fashion, celebrity, aging, camp and queer cultures, online and everyday lifestyle practices, in order to signal how such popular media and processes of cultural engagement enable audiences to reflect on the body, self, sexuality and identity.
The symposium will bring established, early career and emerging scholars and practitioners working in fashion, promotional culture, celebrity studies and lifestyle media together, to develop their critical understanding and spark new debates, research and creative media collaborations. Dr Theodora Thomadaki says ‘academia and the creative industries don’t exist in mutually exclusive silos. They can be so beneficial to one another to create meaningful change and developments and it is hoped that the research coming out of this symposium will positively impact both academic debates and media industry developments.’
In 2017, Dr Thomadaki’s extensive case study research work How to Look Good Naked – A postfeminist opportunity, was shortlisted for the Psychology of Women Section Prize in recognition of ‘outstanding’ feminist work. Her research article: 'Gok Wan ‘on the couch’ is published in the journal of Free Associations: Psychoanalysis and Culture, Media, Groups, Politics.
Dr Theodora Thomadaki has recently been appointed a Founder Scholar of the British Psychoanalytic Council. This is a recognition of the significant contribution to the advancement of psychoanalytical thinking in academia. She is a member of the FCVC Network and is the chair of the special interest group: ‘Celebrity Cultures, Transformation and Emotion’. Dr Thomadaki’s latest article on Gok Wan and transformation narratives is due to be published in Clothing Cultures journal (Intellect) later this year.
Find out more about studying Media Culture and Identity at Roehampton
Buy tickets for the full day symposium or the Gok Wan talk