Kevin Donnelly

Professor Kevin Donnelly holds the academic rank of Professor of Film & Film Music at the University of Southampton, Department of Film & Film Music. His research focuses on music and sound in audiovisual culture, film theory and aesthetics, horror films, British/Irish cinema, and musical genres. He currently supervises multiple PhD students in Film and Psychology. Notable awards include the 2013 American Musicological Society Subvention Award and the 2016 Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Book Award.

Education includes studies at the University of East Anglia and Cardiff University, mentored by prominent scholars like Thomas Elsaesser and W.G. Sebald. He previously taught at Aberystwyth University and the University of East Anglia before joining Southampton in 2007. His current projects include a monograph on evolutionary psychology and audiovisual culture, co-editing Haunted Soundtracks, Folk Horror Films, and Music in Chinese Language Audiovisual Culture.

Active in research groups such as the Centre for International Film Research, his work bridges film studies, musicology, and cultural theory. Recent publications (2021–2025) explore interdisciplinary topics like audiovisual synchronization, horror soundscapes, and cross-cultural cinematic music analysis.