Dr Aaron Humphrey
Lecturer
School of Humanities
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
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 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.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2018 - ongoing Lecturer University of Adelaide 2013 - 2017 Course Coordinator, Lecturer and Tutor (sessional) University of Adelaide -
Awards and Achievements
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 Competencies
Language Competency English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review Spanish; Castilian Can read, write, speak and understand spoken
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Journals
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Book Chapters
Year Citation 2025 Walsh, S., & Humphrey, A. (2025). Paper Memories: Reconstructing Internment Camp Life from Autographic Comics and Drawings of World War I & World War II. In J. Schmid, & C. Lerg (Eds.), HistorioGRAPHICS: Framing the Past in Comics. 2024 Humphrey, A. (2024). The Phantom in Aboriginal Australia: Educational Comics, National Identity and Indigeneity. In C. McGarry, L. Burke, I. Gordon, & A. Ndalianis (Eds.), Superheroes Beyond (pp. 240-258). University Press of Mississippi. 2016 Humphrey, A. S. (2016). Picturing placelessness: Online graphic narratives and Australia's refugee detention centres. In K. Barbour, & M. Griffiths (Eds.), Making Publics, Making Places (pp. 49-73). Adelaide, South Australia, Australia: University of Adelaide Press.
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Curated or Produced Public Exhibition or Events
Year Citation 2021 Hajdu, T., Cook, S., & Humphrey, A. (2021). Art of the Possible: Art Tech: Art and Technology Exhibition (No. Of Pieces: 4 day festival) [Festival]. University of Adelaide: https://artofthepossible.com.au. 2021 Fielding, V., & Humphrey, A. (2021). Art of the Possible: Documentary Competition (No. Of Pieces: 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 (No. Of Pieces: Nine hour symposium) [Exhibition]. www.inkersandthinkers.com. 2014 Mutard, B., Cavcic, A., Pellegrin, A., Mayes, T., Viljoen, J. -M., Macfarlane, E., . . . Humphrey, A. (2014). Inkers and thinkers: the evolution of comics (No. Of Pieces: Nine hour symposium) [Exhibition]. www.inkersandthinkers.com. 2014 Mutard, B., Cavcic, A., Pellegrin, A., Mayes, T., Viljoen, J. -M., Macfarlane, E., . . . Humphrey, A. (2014). Inkers and thinkers: the evolution of comics (No. Of Pieces: Nine hour symposium) [Exhibition]. www.inkersandthinkers.com.
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 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 2021 Co-Supervisor A Critical Analysis of Class Struggle in Video Games: Investigating the Extent to Which Popular Media Depictions of Class Challenge Empire Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Sebastian Alexander Morrison -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 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 Alana Watterson Dunbar 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
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Industry Partnerships
Date Engagement Type Partner Name 2016 - ongoing Consultant Research Skill Development for Curriculum Design and Assessment, University of Adelaide
Connect With Me
External Profiles