amelia morris

Hello and thanks for stopping by! My name is Dr. Amelia (Milly) Morris.

I am a cultural and media theorist, with expertise in feminist and queer theories; I am passionate about interrogating how gender is deeply embedded into our everyday, particularly the popular culture that is sometimes framed as frivolous or unworthy of study. To paraphrase Professor Stuart Hall, I believe that looking at ‘gutter’ media, from reality TV to TikTok, is essential for exploring ubiquitous power structures that shape our understanding of the world and each other. My work explores body politics, weight, austerity, fandoms and ‘more than’ human speciesism; I am currently thinking about Taylor Swift, the far-right’s obsession with raw milk, and portrayals of ‘domestic bliss’ on breakfast television.

I obtained my PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Birmingham in 2018, wherein I conducted research into the body politics of dieting, interviewing members of Slimming World and Weight Watchers across the UK. Using Michel Foucault’s work on the Panopticon, I contributed to feminist work on power, challenging the ‘oppression VS liberation’ binary that sometimes shapes work on the body. In 2019, my thesis was published as a book: The Politics of Weight: Feminist Dichotomies of Power in Dieting. If you are interested in reading this, please drop me an email and I will be happy to send you a (free) digital copy.

Since 2023, I have been a Lecturer (tenure-track Assistant Professor) in Media and Communications at the University of Exeter, wherein I co-direct The Centre for Gender, Media and Sexuality with my brilliant colleagues Drs. Hanne Stegeman, Haili Li, Woori Han, and Professor Andrea Medrado.

As part of my role, I lead the Social Media Committee for the Department of Communications, Drama and Film. This involves overseeing student-led content for CDF and beyond; students regularly collaborate with arts organisations to provide social media marketing, such as the London Comedy Film Festival and the Malvern French Film Festival. Follow us at @uniofexetercomms.

A full CV is available here. Please note this may not be fully up-to-date. Please contact me if you would like a current version.