Aaron Humphrey

Dr Aaron Humphrey

Senior Lecturer

School of Communication, Media and Journalism

College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities

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

Dr Aaron Humphrey is a researcher at the University of Adelaide and teaches in the department of media. His research combines critical analysis with creative practice to investigate the relationships between images and texts, and between media and society. He was recently awarded the Dean’s Commendation for Thesis Excellence for his doctoral dissertation about comics and pedagogy. His academic writing has been published in Australia Studies, a/b: auto/biography studies, Media International Australia, Composition Studies, Digital Humanities Quarterly, The Comics Grid and The Conversation. As a cartoonist, his comics are currently used in digital rhetoric courses and for postgraduate medical education. As a filmmaker, his short films have screened in festivals in Australasia and North America.His current research projects include the use of comics and “graphic medicine” for medical education, visual discourse about asylum seekers within Australia and the historical development of emoji. He is a member of the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice and co-founder and co-organiser of ‘Inkers and Thinkers,’ Australasia’s annual academic conference devoted to comics and graphic narratives.

Date Position Institution name
2025 - ongoing Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide
2018 - ongoing Lecturer University of Adelaide
2013 - 2017 Course Coordinator, Lecturer and Tutor (sessional) University of Adelaide

Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
2016 Award Best Online Comics Studies Scholarship award - United States -
2016 Award Three Minute Thesis Finalist Faculty of Arts, University of Adelaide Australia -
2016 Award Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence University of Adelaide - -
2015 Achievement J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice Collaborative Arts Grant J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice Australia $500
2014 Achievement J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice Collaborative Arts Grant J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice Australia $500
2014 Scholarship ThIncLab Research Commercialisation Accelerator Program Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre, University of Adelaide - -
2014 Achievement Mackay Hospital Foundation Grant Mackay Hospital Foundation Australia $5000
2012 Scholarship Australian Postgraduate Award - Australia $75,894

Language Competency
English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
Spanish; Castilian Can read, write, speak and understand spoken

Date Institution name Country Title
2016 University of Adelaide Australia PhD
2005 Chapman University United States BA

Year Citation
2025 Humphrey, A., & Vétu, G. (2025). “Super Vision” of Humanity: Autobiographical Cartoons and Drawings in Australian Internment Camps during World War II. a/b: Auto/Biography Studies, 40(1), 1-30.
DOI
2025 Humphrey, A., & Vétu, G. (2025). “Super Vision” of Humanity: Autobiographical Cartoons and Drawings in Australian Internment Camps during World War II. Auto/Biography Studies, 1-30.
DOI
2024 Humphrey, A., & Walsh, S. (2024). Lost Precursor to Autobiographical Comics, Kangarooland (ca. 1918–1919), Illuminates Transnational Creativity in Australia's WWI Internment Camps. Journal of Australian Studies, 48(2), 209-229.
DOI
2023 Humphrey, A. (2023). Cartooning the inverse zoo: The forgotten comic art of Kurt Wiese. International Journal of Comic Art, 25(1), 197-217.
2022 Humphrey, A. (2022). Graphic medicine and health professional education: An internship comic book case study. Focus on Health Professional Education, 23(2), 1-20.
WoS1
2021 Humphrey, A., & Walsh, S. (2021). The Border Separating Us: Autobiographical comics of an Australian World War I internment camp. International Journal of Comic Art, 23(1), 254-270.
2021 Machado de Andrade, W., & Humphrey, A. (2021). The Legacy of José Carioca/Zé Carioca: A Critical History of the Brazilian Disney Ambassador. International Journal of Comic Art, 23(2), 272-289.
2020 Humphrey, A. S. (2020). Drawing out of detention: The transnational drawing practices of eaten fish, refugee cartoonist. a/b: Auto/Biography Studies, 35(2), 435-458.
DOI Scopus5
2020 Humphrey, A. (2020). The pedagogy and potential of educational comics. International Journal of Comic Art, 22(2), 375-404.
2018 Humphrey, A. (2018). Emotion and secrecy in Australian asylum-seeker comics: The politics of visual style. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 21(5), 457-485.
DOI Scopus14 WoS15
2017 Humphrey, A. (2017). The Cult of Krazy Kat: Memory and Recollection in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship, 7(1), 1-24.
DOI
2017 Humphrey, A. S. (2017). User personas and social media profiles. Persona Studies, 3(2), 13-20.
DOI
2015 Humphrey, A. S., & Carvajal, J. C. (2015). Visual and spatial language: the silent voice of Woodstock. Composition Studies, 43(1), 19-30.
2015 Humphrey, A. (2015). Multimodal authoring and authority in educational comics: introducing Derrida and Foucault for Beginners. Digital Humanities Quarterly, 9(3), 1-25.
2015 Humphrey, A. S. (2015). Multimodal Authoring and Authority in Educational Comics: Introducing Derrida and Foucault for Beginners. DIGITAL HUMANITIES QUARTERLY, 9(4), 25 pages.
2014 Humphrey, A. (2014). Alternative modalities - a review of graphic encounters: comics and the sponsorship of multimodal literacy. The Comics Grid, 4(1), 3-1-3-3.
DOI
2014 Humphrey, A. (2014). Beyond graphic novels: illustrated scholarly discourse and the history of educational comics. Media International Australia, 151(151), 73-80.
DOI Scopus16 WoS9
2014 Humphrey, A. S. (2014). Robertson, Frances, Print Culture: From Steam Press to eBook, Routledge, Milton Park, 2012, ISBN 9 7804 1557 4174,168 pp., A$39.95. Media International Australia, 151(1), 208-209.
DOI
2014 Humphrey, A. (2014). Print Culture: From Steam Press to eBook. MEDIA INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA, (151), 208-209.

Year Citation
2021 Hajdu, T., Cook, S., & Humphrey, A. (2021). Art of the Possible: Art Tech: Art  and Technology Exhibition (Extent: 4 day festival) [Festival]. University of Adelaide: https://artofthepossible.com.au.
2021 Fielding, V., & Humphrey, A. (2021). Art of the Possible: Documentary Competition (Extent: 1 hour) [short films and documentaries]. https://artofthepossible.com.au: https://artofthepossible.com.au.
2014 Mutard, B., Cavcic, A., Pellegrin, A., Mayes, T., Viljoen, J. -M., Macfarlane, E., . . . Humphrey, A. (2014). Inkers and thinkers: the evolution of comics (Extent: Nine hour symposium) [Exhibition]. www.inkersandthinkers.com.

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2025 Co-Supervisor Becoming Neurodivergent: Algorithmic Identity and Historical Discourse Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Aislinn Rossi
2024 Principal Supervisor The Sound of Success: Voice Acting’s Contribution to the Cross-Cultural Reception of Astro Boy (1980) Master of Philosophy Master Part Time Mr Paul Shayne Monopoli
2024 Principal Supervisor The Sound of Success: Voice Actings Contribution to the Cross-Cultural Reception of Astro Boy (1980) Master of Philosophy Master Part Time Mr Paul Shayne Monopoli
2023 Co-Supervisor Household Experiences of Reducing Waste: Moving Towards Circular Economy Futures Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mrs Marisol Da Silva
2022 Co-Supervisor English in K-pop: A multilevel analysis of K-pop and the strategic use of English in the face of Western pop culture hegemony Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Megan Sarah Moon

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2022 - 2026 Co-Supervisor HYBRIDITY VERSUS HEGEMONY: INTERROGATING THE USE OF ENGLISH IN K-POP Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Megan Sarah Moon
2021 - 2025 Co-Supervisor Stories of Surplus-Value
An Analysis of Models of Capitalism and Resistance in Videogames		 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Sebastian Alexander Morrison
2020 - 2023 Co-Supervisor “Killing those foul witches”: the witch in fantasy medievalist computer role-play games Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Tess Watterson
2019 - 2022 Co-Supervisor Design Cultures in Conflict: An Analysis of User Experience Design Standards in Social Media Smartphone Apps Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Dr Sami Dannaoui
2018 - 2022 Principal Supervisor Mediated Meaning: The Representation of Mental Health on Social Media Platforms Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Anne Nattembo

Date Engagement Type Partner Name
2016 - ongoing Consultant Research Skill Development for Curriculum Design and Assessment, University of Adelaide

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