Dr Diane A. Rodgers PhD, FHEA, PgCert LTHE
Senior Lecturer
Summary
I'm a Senior Lecturer in Media, teaching across a variety of modules but specialising in Alternative Media and Storytelling in film and television, specialising in cult film, horror, television, underground comics and music. I am also a co-founder of the Centre for Contemporary Legend research group and a member of the CCMS steering committee.
My PhD was on folk horror and hauntology in 'wyrd' 1970s British Film and Television. My research interests relate to the communication of folklore and contemporary legend in the media including: all areas of horror, folk horror; folklore on screen; the supernatural and children’s television. I’m interested in supervising PhD students in any of these areas.
About
My research examines the communication of folklore and hauntological aspects of British 1970s television (for adults and children), and the impact of this upon modern media and perceptions about folklore. I am particularly interested in unsettling horror, onscreen representations of the supernatural, the use of stone circles on screen, the work of Nigel Kneale and ‘spooky’ television programming aimed at children.
I regularly publish on a variety of topics related to my interests, I frequently collaborate with colleagues on research projects which have recently included co-editing a book on the television phenomena The X-Files and a research paper examining the cultural implications of perceptions of witchcraft as shaped by YouTube algorithms. I also conduct a significant amount of work with my Centre for Contemporary Legend colleagues in order to develop the profile of folklore studies and promote public and academic engagement and diverse representation within the subject. I welcome PhD proposals in the area of horror, folk horror, hauntology or the broad area of folklore and contemporary legend on screen and in the media.
Taught modules include Alternative Media, heavily grounded in theory, examining underground comics, music, social and political movements, film, television and comedy. I also teach Storytelling in Film and Television which uses textual analysis to consider how meaning is created onscreen across a number of examples from both classic and cult film and television. I am a member of The Folklore Society and the International Society for Contemporary Legend Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. I am also involved in practice related to my teaching outside of my work, including performing live music with my band The Sleazoids and carrying out digital video editing work for feature film, music videos and online projects.
Senior Lecturer
Specialist areas of interest
Folklore and folk horror in film and television
Alternative culture
Teaching
Department of Media Arts and Communication
College of Social Sciences and Arts
Link 1: https://contemporarylegend.co.uk/info/
Link 2: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/c3riimpact/tag/diane-rodgers/
Subject area
Media and Photography
Courses
Media
Modules
Alternative Media, Storytelling in Film & Television, Making Media, Media Identities and Representations, Media Audiences.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
- Culture and Creativity Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Institute
Current projects include:
AHRC-funded National Folklore Survey, led by my Centre for Contemporary Legend (CCL) colleague Dr David Clarke, partnering with the University of Hertfordshire and University of California.
AHRC-funded project Dracula Returns to Derby, led by Professor Matthew Cheeseman at the University of Derby, partnering with Derby Museums.
I am currently under contract to write my first monograph 'WYRD TV: Folklore, Folk horror and Television' for BFI Publishing, and recently completed the co-edited collection 'The Legacy of The X-Files' (Fenwick and Rodgers, 2024). I have chapters in several recent publications on Folk Horror including in 'The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror' (Edgar and Johnson, 2024) and 'Folk Horror on Film' (Bayman and Donnelly, 2024).
Link 1: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/c3riimpact/in-multicultural-britain-local-folklore-is-just-as-important-as-ever-the-centre-for-contemporary-legend-at-sheffield-hallam-university-to-conduct-the-ukri-funded-national-folklore-survey/#:~:text=The%20Centre%20for%20Contemporary%20Legend%20at%20Sheffield%20Hallam%20University%2C%20is,%2Dpandemic%2C%20multicultural%20England%E2%80%9D.
Link 2: https://www.derby.ac.uk/news/2024/dracula-returns-to-derby/
Link 3: https://contemporarylegend.co.uk/info/
AHRC
University of Hertfordshire
University of California
University of Derby
Derby Museums
Publications
Key Publications
Rodgers, D., & Paciorek, A. (2019). . In Folk Horror Revival: Urban Wyrd 2: Spirits of Place. Wyrd Harvest Press
Rodgers, D. (2019). . In Urban Wyrd. Wyrd Harvest Press
Rodgers, D. (2019). . Folklore.
Rodgers, D. (2018). . Presented at: Centre for Contemporary Legend Inaugural Symposium, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, 2018
Rodgers, D. (2018). . Cinema Retro, 14 (41), 30-31.
Rodgers, D. (2017). . [IMPACT Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Blog].
Rodgers, D. (2017). . In Corupe, P., & Janisse, K.-.L. (Eds.) Yuletide Terror: Christmas Horror on Film and Television. (pp. 156-169). Spectacular Optical:
Rodgers, D. (2017). Cinema Retro, 37.
Journal articles
Rodgers, D. (2024). . Contemporary Legend, 2 (4), 1-7.
Rodgers, D.A. (2023). The X-Philes: Fandom and paratextual narratives. The Legacy of The X-Files, 163-165.
Rodgers, D.A. (2023). Contemporary legend: Conspiracy, belief and politics. The Legacy of The X-Files, 101-103.
Rodgers, D. (2020). . Revenant, 57-73.
Rodgers, D. (2019). . Cinema Retro.
Rodgers, D. (2017). . Cinema Retro, 38.
Rodgers, D. (2016). . .
Rodgers, D. (2016). . .
Rodgers, D. (2016). . .
Rodgers, D. (2015). . .
Rodgers, D. (2015). . Cinema Retro, 11 (33), 44.
Rodgers, D. (2015). . .
Rodgers, D. (n.d.). The eerie folklore of Robin Redbreast. Revenant.
Book chapters
Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-Files. New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-Files. New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Fenwick, J. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-Files. New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Fenwick, J. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-Files. New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Rodgers, D. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-Files. New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Rodgers, D. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-Files. New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Rodgers, D. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-Files. New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Rodgers, D. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-Files. New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Clarke, D. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-files. (pp. 105-120). New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Clarke, D. (2023). . In Fenwick, J., & Rodgers, D. (Eds.) The Legacy of The X-files. (pp. 105-120). New York: Bloomsbury Academic:
Rodgers, D. (2023). Ghosts in the Machine. Folklore and Technology On-screen in Ghostwatch (1992) and Host (2020). In Edgar, R., & Johnson, W. (Eds.) The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror. (pp. 194-203). Routledge:
Rodgers, D. (2021). . In Hart, C., & Cheeseman, M. (Eds.) Folklore and Nation in Britain and Ireland. Routledge:
Theses / Dissertations
Rodgers, D. (2022). . (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Clarke, D., & Hall, S.
Internet Publications
Rodgers, D. (2022). .
Rodgers, D. (2022). .
Rodgers, D. (2021). .
Rodgers, D. (2020). .
Rodgers, D. (2019). .
Rodgers, D. (2019). .
Rodgers, D. (2019). .
Karan, S. (2017). . [Online Magazine].
Rodgers, D. (2017). .
Media
Russell, R. (2024). . [Documentary Feature Film]. Intermission FIlm
Rodgers, D. (2024). . [DVD commentary]. BFI:
Rodgers, D. (2024). . [DVD documentary extra]. Severin Films:
Rodgers, D. (2024). . [DVD documentary extra]. Severin Films:
Presentations
Rodgers, D. (2023). Future Folktales & Monstrous Megaliths. Presented at: Future Folktales, University of Sheffield
Rodgers, D., & Fenwick, J. (2023). The Art of the X-Files. Presented at: The Art of The X-Files, Peak Theatre, SHU
Rodgers, D. (2023). Folklore, Folk Horror and Generation Hexed. Presented at: FOLKLORE, FOLK HORROR AND GENERATION HEXED (LONDON), Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, London
Rodgers, D. (2023). Monstrous Megaliths: spooky stones of folk horror. Presented at: Perspectives on Contemporary Legend, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, 2023
Rodgers, D. (2022). Generation HeXed. Presented at: Horrifying Children: Hauntology and the Legacy of Children’s Fictions, York, UK, 2022
Rodgers, D. (2022). . Presented at: Fact, Fiction and Folklore in Film, Glasgow, Scotland, 2022
Rodgers, D. (2021). . Presented at: The Unholy Trinity of Folk Horror, Sheffield, UK
Rodgers, D. (2021). Creative COVID Customs and Folklore in Contemporary Film and Television. Presented at: Creativity during the Covid lockdown: Life and Renewal During the Pandemic, Royal Anthropological Institute [online]
Rodgers, D. (2021). . Presented at: Fear 2000: Horror Unbound, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ [online], 2021
Clarke, D. (2021). Nigel Kneale, Quatermass, and Ancient Astronauts. Presented at: The Sky in Legend and Tradition, Salisbury
Rodgers, D. (2021). Contemporary Folklore, Contemporary Media & Covid Customs. Presented at: Perspectives on Contemporary Legend, Tarragona, Spain [online]
Zhang, H., Rodgers, D., Rodriguez-Amat, J.R., & Belinskaya, Y. (2021). Algorithmic Alchemy: The Power of the Witch on YouTube. Presented at: ICA 2021 - 71st Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado [online]
Zhang, H., Rodgers, D.A., Rodriguez-Amat, J.R., & Belinskaya, Y. (2021). The Shape of Witchcraft. Analytics of Recommendation Algorithms and the Platformization of Culture. Presented at: Algorithms in Film, Television and Sound Cultures: New Ways of Knowing and Storytelling, Bilgi University, Istanbul [online]
Rodgers, D. (2020). . Presented at: Haunts - haunted places and haunting practices, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ [online], 2020
Robinson, A., Clarke, D., & Rodgers, D. (2020). . Presented at: Creating Knowledge Conference 2020, Online, 2020
Rodgers, D. (2020). . Presented at: SHU Creating Knowledge Conference, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ [online], 2020
Rodgers, D. (2019). Beasts, Monoliths & Witchcraft – the Unsung Nigel Kneale. Presented at: Folklore on Screen, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
Rodgers, D. (2019). . Presented at: Folklore and the Nation, Derby, UK, 2019
Rodgers, D. (2018). Presented at: Screening the Unreal, University of Brighton, 2018
Rodgers, D. (2017). Presented at: At Home With Horror? Terror on the Small Screen, University of Kent, Canterbury, 2017
Rodgers, D. (2017). . Presented at: Fear 2000: Horror Media Now, Sheffield,UK, 2017
Other activities
President-elect of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
Postgraduate supervision
I welcome PhD proposals in the area of folk horror, hauntology or the broad area of folklore and contemporary legend on screen and in the media.