Emily Keightley

Professor Emily Keightley is a leading scholar in Media and Memory Studies at Loughborough University, where she has held the position since 2007. Her academic journey includes a PhD from Loughborough University (2007) and a prestigious £1m Research Leadership Award from The Leverhulme Trust (2017–2022). She serves as editor for the journal Media, Culture & Society and co-founded the Global Media Studies Network. Her work bridges media studies with interdisciplinary themes of memory, migration, and postcolonialism.

Key research focuses include the mediation of memory in everyday life, temporal structures of modernity, and the role of media in shaping individual and collective memory. She explores topics like diasporic heritage, gendered mnemonic experiences, and the intersection of migration and identity. Recent projects examine the Partition of British India’s legacy in South Asian diasporas and the impact of AI on power dynamics.

Her publications span methodological innovations (e.g., embodied memory practices) and critical analyses of digital media’s role in nostalgia and cultural transmission. She critiques Western media theory through decolonial lenses and emphasizes creative methodologies in memory research. Awards and editorial roles reflect her global influence in shaping media and memory discourse.

Emily’s work engages with transnational mnemonic encounters, digital disconnection, and the ethics of commemoration. She explores how media technologies mediate historical events, personal narratives, and cultural identities across diverse geographies and temporalities.