Austin Fisher

Dr Austin Fisher

  • u_afisher at bournemouth dot ac dot uk
  • Associate Professor of Popular Culture
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Biography

I am a cultural historian, with primary research interests in the history, politics and cinema of Italy and the USA. I have also published research on the history of exploitation cinema, transnational cinemas, and various kinds of political filmmaking. I welcome applications from research students interested in working in these and related fields.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and I convene the Screen Studies Research Group at Bournemouth University. My main area of expertise concerns popular Italian cinema’s engagement with the countercultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and I have published widely in this area. My most recent book was "Blood in the Streets: Histories of Violence in Italian Crime Cinema": a study of cinematic representations of political violence in 1970s Italy, which won the BAFTSS "Best Monograph" award.

I am founding co-editor of the “Global Exploitation Cinemas” book series (Bloomsbury). I also serve on the Editorial Boards of the "Transnational Screens" journal and the "Popular West" book series (Oklahoma University Press).

Favourites

Journal Articles

Books

Chapters

  • Fisher, A., Smith, I.R., 2020. Second Phase Transnationalism: Reflections on Launching the SCMS Transnational Cinemas Scholarly Interest Group. In: De La Garza, A., Doughty, R., Shaw, D., eds. Transnational Screens: Expanding the Borders of Transnational Cinema. Routledge.
  • Fisher, A., 2017. Sergio Leone and the Transnational Western. Once Upon a Time ... the Western: A New Frontier in Art and Film. 5 Continents Editions.
  • Fisher, A.. Italian Popular Film Genres. In: Burke, F., eds. A Companion to Italian Cinema. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Fisher, A., 2016. Go West, Brother: the Politics of Landscape in the Blaxploitation Western. In: Fisher, A., Walker, J., eds. Grindhouse: Cultural Exchange on 42nd Street, and Beyond. Bloomsbury.
  • Fisher, A.. Political Memory in the Italian Hinterland: Locating the “Rural Giallo”. In: Hunter, R., Baschiera, S., eds. Italian Horror Cinema. Edinburgh University Press.
  • Fisher, A.. Nuovo cinema paradiso. In: Haenni, S., Barrow, S., White, J., eds. The Routledge Encyclopaedia of Films. Routledge.
  • Fisher, A.. Roma città aperta. In: Haenni, S., Barrow, S., White, J., eds. The Routledge Encyclopaedia of Films. Routledge.
  • Fisher, A.. Spaghetti Westerns. In: Bayman, L., eds. Directory of World Cinema: Italy. Intellect.

Artefacts

PhD Students

  • Ucheyamere Chimdiebube Nkwam-Uwaoma. Horror Films in Nollywood: An Evaluation of Women's Portrayals and Participation (2000-2020), (In progress)
  • Kuihua Zhang. From Narrating History to Constructing National Memory: The Dialogical Engagement of Nanjing Massacre Film, (In progress)

Profile of Teaching UG

  • The Film Industries
  • Film Festivals for Makers and Curators
  • Media Scholarship
  • Researching Media
  • Film Language
  • Graduate Film Project

Invited Lectures

  • Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, London, 10 Dec 2020 more
  • Northumbria University, 25 Nov 2020 more

Grants

  • Un-American Activities: Cold War Popular Culture and the Blacklist Western (British Academy, 01 Jul 2025). Awarded

External Responsibilities

  • Northumbria University, External Examiner (2024-2028)
  • "The Popular West" Book Series (Oklahoma University Press), Editorial Board member (2019-)
  • University of Southampton, External Examiner (2018-2022)
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), Member, Professional Development Committee (2017-2020)
  • [in]Transition, Editorial Board Member (2015-), http://mediacommons.org/intransition/
  • Transnational Screens, Editorial Board Member (2014-), https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rtrc21/current
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), Founder and Co-Chair, "Transnational Cinemas" SIG (2013-2017)
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), Judge: Student Writing Award Committee (2012-2013)

Public Engagement & Outreach Activities

  • Sergio Corbucci, The Great Silence and the Italian Western (19 Apr 2023)
  • "Italian Horror Cinema in its Political Contexts" - Festival of Learning 2018 (16 Jun 2018)
  • "IT'S ALIVE! The First Two Hundred Years of 'Frankenstein'", by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling (20 Feb 2018)

Conference Presentations

  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), Curating Italian Horror Films in the Streaming Era, 14 Mar 2024, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), Un-American Activities: Johnny Guitar and the Blacklist Western, 12 Apr 2023, Denver, Colorado
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), 'Human Dregs' and 'Bastard Theatres': the Politics of Legitimacy in 42nd Street Cinemas, 31 Mar 2022, Online
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), Revisiting the Blacklist Western: a Reception Study of High Noon, 17 Mar 2021, Online
  • Images at the Threshold: A Postgraduate Film Conference, University of Bath
  • Cultural Borrowings: A Study Day on Appropriation, Reworking and Transformation, The University of Nottingham
  • Popular Italian Cinema: An International Conference, King’s College, London
  • MeCCSA Postgraduate Conference, Bangor University, Wales
  • Kiss Kiss Kill Kill: A Symposium on the Forgotten Spy Film of Cold War Europe, University of Hertfordshire
  • Cine-Excess, Odeon Covent Garden, London
  • Society for Italian Studies Biennial Conference, University of St. Andrews
  • Film and Media, The Institute of Education, University of London
  • MeCCSA, University of Bedfordshire
  • SCMS, Boston, MA
  • SCMS, Chicago
  • Screen, University of Glasgow
  • SCMS, Seattle
  • SCMS, Seattle
  • Film and History, Madison, Wisconsin
  • SCMS, Montreal
  • Cinema e Storia, Università Roma Tre
  • Italian Cinemas/Italian Histories Workshop, University of Leeds
  • SCMS, Atlanta
  • SCMS, Atlanta
  • Transnational Screens, De Montfort University
  • SCMS, Chicago
  • Popular Culture Association annual conference, San Diego
  • American Association for Italian Studies conference, Columbus, Ohio
  • SCMS, Toronto
  • BAFTSS (British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies), University of Birmingham
  • International Association for Media and History (IAMHIST), Northumbria University
  • Transnational Screens: New Directions, New Collaborations, University of Portsmouth

Qualifications

  • PhD in Media Arts (Royal Holloway, University of London, 2010)
  • PGCE in Higher Education (Royal Holloway, University of London, 2006)
  • MA in Literature, Culture and Modernity (Queen Mary, University of London, 2001)
  • BA (Hons) in English (The University of Birmingham, 1999)

Honours

  • Best Monograph (British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies, 2020)

Memberships

  • Royal Historical Society, Fellow (2021-),
  • International Association for Media and History (IAMHIST), Member (2019-),
  • British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS), Member (2017-),
  • Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA), Member (2015-),
  • Higher Education Academy, Fellow (2014-),
  • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), Member (2011-),
  • National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image (NAHEMI), Member,

Networks

  • Head of the History Research Group (Bournemouth University)
  • Editorial Board: 'The Popular West' book series (Oklahoma University Press)
  • Editorial Board: [in]Transition: Journal of Videographic Film & Moving Image Studies.
  • Editorial Board: 'Transnational Cinemas' journal (Routledge)
  • Founding Co-Editor: ‘Global Exploitation Cinemas’ book series (Bloomsbury)
  • Co-Founder: 'Transnational Cinemas' Scholarly Interest Group, Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS)
The data on this page was last updated at 05:00 on February 18, 2026.