Kate Lacey

Professor Kate Lacey is a leading academic in media history and theory at the University of Sussex’s School of Media, Arts and Humanities. She also serves as Director of the AHRC DTP Consortium CHASE, a doctoral training partnership across 8 UK institutions.

• PhD in German History, University of Liverpool (1992)
• BA in European Studies (German & Politics), Queen Mary University of London (1987)

Her research focuses on:

• Historical and theoretical intersections of media, politics, and communication
• Evolution of mediated listening in public spheres across the 20th and 21st centuries
• Radio histories and vernacular modernism in broadcasting
• Gender politics in media history and audience studies
• Sound studies and auditory capital in cultural analysis
• Media archaeology and ethical listening practices

Recent publications explore radio’s role in cosmopolitan intimacy, slow media ethics, and mediated memory. Her work traces listening as active political engagement rather than passive reception, emphasizing its auditory roots in communication theory.

Scientific awards include:

• DAAD studentships for German research (1985-86, 1990-91)

Teaching & supervision highlights:

• Convenes undergraduate module Media, Memory and History
• Previously taught Media, Public Sphere, Gender and Representation, and European Cinema
• Supervises doctoral projects on Chinese radio history, feminist movements, and social media governance