Daniel Campbell Blight

Daniel Campbell Blight is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton's School of Art and Media, where he has held a permanent academic role since 2017. He concurrently serves as a Visiting Lecturer in Sociology at King's College London (2023–2025) and has held visiting roles at institutions including Yale University, the Royal College of Art, and the University of Utah. Blight holds a BA in Sound Arts and Design from the University of the Arts London (2003–2006), an MPhil in Communication Art and Design from the Royal College of Art (2006–2009), and a PhD in Sociology from King’s College London (2020–2025).

His research focuses on the intersections of art, race, and visual culture, particularly examining the visual dimensions of white racial knowledge, critical whiteness studies, and the sociology of art. Key themes include racialization in photography, critical race theory, and pedagogical approaches to white self-criticality. His work integrates practice-based art research with theoretical analysis, interrogating how racial ideologies are embedded in visual practices and cultural institutions.

Blight is the author of The Image of Whiteness: Contemporary Photography and Racialization (2019/2022) and an upcoming monograph Not the Light: The Image in the White Racial Frame (2025). His art practice critiques racialized systems through photography, data visualization, and installation, addressing topics like colonial legacies, white ignorance, and cultural taste. His exhibitions include venues such as Tate Britain and Frieze London, and his writing appears in frieze, Aperture, and Granta.

He has received the Carmen Mortensen Endowed Visiting Scholar award (University of Utah, 2022) and grants from Arts Council England and the Mayor of London. Blight’s curatorial work includes roles at The Photographers’ Gallery and collaborations with international institutions, emphasizing public-facing research and critical art education.

Blight supervises PhD students in areas such as art history, critical race studies, and whiteness pedagogy. His teaching spans institutions like the Royal College of Art and the University of Oxford, prioritizing interdisciplinary approaches to art, sociology, and critical theory.