Olivier Driessens

Primary fields of research

My research is concerned with the consequences of mediation in terms of unequal visibility and attention, recognition and changes in the social and cultural fabric. It is situated at the intersection of the following research areas:
- Media sociology
- Media and social theory
- Digital media and communications
- Social and cultural change

Current research

My first project broadens my earlier work on celebrity and aims at better understanding the relationships between (in)visibility and attention. In a next step, I will analyse and theorise the cultural changes of this relationship. One argument I am presenting here is that we need to complement the politics of visibility with politics of attention.

Second, I am studying the mediatisation of recognition, with a particular interest in how evaluative infrastructures, such as feedback systems and review scores, alter recognition and with what social, cultural and ethical consequences.

Third, building upon my longstanding interest in mediatisation studies, I am working on a theoretical and methodological framework to study media-related social and cultural change from a critical realist perspective.

Teaching

I am teaching on the MA and can supervise students in areas mentioned above.

CV

Education
- Postgraduate Certificate in Education, Higher Education (Associate Level), London School of Economics and Political Science
- PhD, Communication Sciences, Ghent University
- MSc, Sociology, K.U.Leuven
- MSc, Communication Sciences, Ghent University

Professional experience
- Lecturer in the Sociology of Media and Culture, University of Cambridge (2015-2017)
- LSE Fellow in Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science (2014-2015)
- Associate Researcher at Goldsmiths, University of London (Spring 2012)
- Research and Teaching Assistant, Ghent University (2007-2013)

Service to profession:
Editorial Board member of: Celebrity Studies (Routledge); Book review co-editor at Communications: European Journal of Communication Research (De Gruyter)

Reviewer for academic journals: Celebrity Studies (Taylor & Francis), Communication Theory (Wiley-Blackwell), Communications: European Journal of Communication Research (De Gruyter), Communicazioni Sociali: Journal of Media, Performing Arts and Cultural Studies (Vita e Pensiero), Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural studies (SAGE), Critical Studies in Media Communication (SAGE), European Journal of Cultural Studies (SAGE), Information, Communication & Society (SAGE), International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society (Springer), International Journal of Press/Politics (SAGE), Marketing Theory (SAGE), Qualitative Research (SAGE), Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap (Boom Uitgeverij), Theory and Society (Springer)