Kim Barbour

Dr Kim Barbour

Senior Lecturer

School of Humanities

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Kim Barbour is a qualitative new media scholar. As a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Media, Kim’s work focuses on digital and online media, and storytelling. Kim’s research looks at online persona, the strategic production of identity through digital media, and particularly focuses on the use of social media. Kim’s research often focuses on artists or other creative practitioners.
Kim is the co-founding editor of the Persona Studies journal, an online, open access journal based at Deakin University. She has published chapters in the edited books Media, Margins and Popular Culture (Palgrave), Making Places, Making Publics (Adelaide University Press) and Digital Academics (Routledge), articles in Celebrity Studies, M/C Journal, First Monday, and Platform: Journal of Media and Communication, and her paper ‘Performing Professionalism | Validating Artistness’ won the Grant Noble award for best post-graduate paper at ANZCA 2014. Her co-authored book Persona Studies: An Introduction is to be published in 2019 by Wiley.
Kim's Google Scholar profile is available here: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=4uWj5ukAAAAJ&hl=en

Kim Barbour is a qualitative new media scholar. As a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Media, Kim’s work focuses on digital and online media. Kim’s research looks at online persona, the strategic production of identity through digital media, and particularly focuses on the use of social media. 

Kim is the co-founding editor of the Persona Studies journal, an online, open access journal based at Deakin University. She is sole author of Women and Persona Performance (2023, Palgrave MacMillan), and co-author of Persona Studies: An Introduction (2020, Wiley Blackwell). She has published articles in Convergence, Continuum, TDR: The Drama Review, Celebrity Studies, M/C Journal, First Monday, and Media International Australia. Kim presents regularly at national and international conferences, and is Secretary of the Australia New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA).

Current research projects:

  • Minecraft YouTube and storytelling
  • Fan personas

Kim regularly receives funding from School and Faculty research schemes to support her research.

Having taught in the core of the Bachelor of Media program since joining the University of Adelaide in 2015, Kim is teaching the following courses in 2024:

Semester 1:

  • MDIA 3331 Popular Media: Text, Audience, Industry
  • MDIA 4002/7007 Advanced Media Research Methods

Semester 2:

  • MDIA 1019 Image and Brand
  • MDIA 7003 Media Masters Thesis\

Kim is Honours coordinator for the Bachelor of Media (Honours) program, and Postgraduate Coordinator for Media, European Languages and Linguistics, and Philosophies within the School of Humanities.

 

Regularly supervising Honours, Masters by research, and PhD candidates, a full list of Kim's supervisions is available here.

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2024 Principal Supervisor Online Feminist Activism in Iran: The Case of MeToo Movement Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Elmira Nouri
    2023 Principal Supervisor QUEER and WORLD MADE FLESH: queer representation within contemporary art museums in Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Brittany Sheree Pfeiffer
  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2021 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Capturing simultaneity: International students’ connectedness and identity perceptions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Ms Thanh Nguyen
    2020 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Oscar Bait: Exploring Links Between an Academy Awards Institutional Persona and Perceptions of Oscar-Worthiness Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Robert Penn Boucaut
    2020 - 2024 Co-Supervisor Representations of Optional Romance in AAA Role-playing Games: Love, Lust and Limerence Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Amy Matilda Brierley-Beare
    2020 - 2024 Principal Supervisor Media Mimicry - How ‘Mimic Vlogs’ Emulate User-Generated Content in Online Stories. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Caitlin Anne Adams
    2020 - 2023 Co-Supervisor The Evolution of the Body in Contemporary Art and Digital Media: Asger Carlsen, Julie Rrap, Leah Schrager, Juliana Huxtable Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Alexandra Mowbray
    2017 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Remediation or Replacement: Masthead Stakeholders' Perception of News Digitalisation in Nigeria Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Ayodeji Boluwatife Aiyesimoju
    2017 - 2020 Co-Supervisor The Art of Selling Arts: Marketing Culture Using Digital Media at Fringe Arts Festivals Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Amy Elizabeth Nancarrow
    2017 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Contested Kingdom: The Role of Online Media in the Relationship between Disney and Fans over Disneyland Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr William McCarthy
    2017 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Representations of Women in Pakistani Cinema: Role, Image, and Characterisation Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Nazia Hussain
    2016 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Crafting true stories: an interpretation of four Australian journalists' nonfiction writing practices Master of Philosophy Master Part Time Mrs Varunika Sonani Hapuwatte Ruwanpura
  • Board Memberships

    Date Role Board name Institution name Country
    2017 - ongoing Board Member Chair of Ethic and Policy, Executive Board Fame and Persona Research Consortium Australia
    2013 - ongoing Member - Australia New Zealand Communication Association Australia
  • Committee Memberships

    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2018 - ongoing Member Faculty of Arts Research Committee The University of Adelaide Australia
    2017 - ongoing Chair School of Humanities Learning and Teaching Committee The University of Adelaide Australia
    2017 - ongoing Member Faculty of Arts Teaching and Learning Committee The University of Adelaide Australia
  • Memberships

    Date Role Membership Country
    2014 - ongoing Member Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Australia
  • Editorial Boards

    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2014 - ongoing Editor-In-chief Persona Studies Deakin University Australia
  • Position: Senior Lecturer
  • Phone: 83133405
  • Email: kim.barbour@adelaide.edu.au
  • Fax: 83134341
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Napier, floor 9
  • Org Unit: School of Humanities

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