Dr Steve Jones

Assistant Professor

Department: Northumbria School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries

Research

I am a film scholar and a leading authority on extreme imagery and the intersections between horror and pornography.

My early publications established this reputation by interrogating extreme imagery, particularly horror films that include explicit sex and sexual violence, and pornographic films that draw on horror’s tropes and conventions. My first monograph Toture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw (2013) is the cornerstone of that body of work.

More recently, I have introduced new theoretical models from contemporary philosophy – particularly moral philosophy and the philosophy of self – into Film, Media and Horror Studies.

My work has been published in the field’s leading journals, including Film-Philosophy, Feminist Media Studies, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Sexuality & Culture, Journal of Film and Video, Porn Studies, and Sexualities, as well as numerous notable edited collections. My second monograph, The Metamodern Slasher Film was published in 2024.

I am the lead for Northumbria’s Horror Studies Research Group.

Invited Editorial Board Roles

Porn Studies
21st Century Horror book series (Edinburgh University Press).
Hidden Horror Histories book series (Liverpool University Press).

Professional Memberships

British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS): Founding Member of Special Interest Groups in Horror Studies, Film & Philosophy, and Screening Sex.
Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS): Scholarly Interest Groups in Horror Studies, Film-Philosophy, and Adult Cinema History.
Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA).

Advisory Roles

Invited expert advisor on a Delphi panel for the Australian Research Council funded project “Pornography’s Effects on Audiences”.
Invited expert advisor for the Porn Laid Bare symposium, which was co-hosted by the Terence Higgins Trust and University of Sussex.

Teaching

I joined Northumbria in April 2010. Prior to that I taught Media, Film and Cultural theory at the University of Sussex where I completed my PhD thesis.
Between 2018-2021, I was Head of Subject for Media and Film at Northumbria. I have been Programme Leader at every level (UG and PG).
My teaching interests are based in media, film and cultural studies.

Email Steve

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

The intersections between horror and pornography
“Extreme” imagery and representations of sexual violence
Film-Philosophy, particularly moral philosophy and the philosophy of self
Contemporary American Horror Film

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Torture porn: Popular horror after saw, Jones, S. 31 Jul 2013
Hardcore Horror: Challenging the Discourses of ‘Extremity’, Jones, S. 18 Jan 2021, New Blood, University of Wales Press
Cartesianism and Intersubjectivity in Paranormal Activity and the Philosophy of Mind, Jones, S. 6 Mar 2017, In: Film-Philosophy
Appealing, Appalling: Morality and Revenge in I Spit on Your Grave (2010), Jones, S. 1 Aug 2023, In: Quarterly Review of Film and Video
'Extreme' porn? The implications of a label, Jones, S. 24 Oct 2016, In: Porn Studies

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Invited talk: The Metamodern Slasher Film 2021
Invited talk: Compression and Subtraction in Contemporary Indie Horror 2023
Examination: PhD External Examination - Ulster 2022
Other: Television interview 2023
Publication Peer-review: Popular Communication (Journal) 2022

PGR Supervision

Ami Nisa Start Date: 01/10/2018 End Date: 27/11/2019
Gabrielle Smith Presenters, Performance, and Puppets: An analysis of the roles of the presenter in contemporary British children’s television Start Date: 18/01/2019
Rebecca Stanton Representations of animal harm and objectification in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ films (1937-2016) utilizing theories of romanticism, speciesism, and compassion Start Date: 01/10/2016 End Date: 23/04/2020
Jessica O'donnell The Digital Backlash Against Feminism: The Feminist Response to Gamergate and MRAs Start Date: 08/10/2013 End Date: 14/11/2017
Rebecca Stanton Representations of animal harm and objectification in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ films (1937-2016) utilizing theories of romanticism, speciesism, and compassion Start Date: 01/10/2016 End Date: 27/11/2019
Krista Calvo Growing Pains: Child Autonomy in Reagan Era Horror Film Start Date: 18/01/2021
Thomas Watson Audiovisual Violence and Editorial Manipulation: The Relationship Between Violent Image-Content and Violent Image-Form Start Date: 04/10/2011 End Date: 08/10/2015
Jessica O'donnell The Digital Backlash Against Feminism: The Feminist Response to Gamergate and MRAs Start Date: 08/10/2013 End Date: 14/11/2017
Max Posner Digital-Environmental Habitus: Examining the Pertinence of Digital Capital and Individual Habitus on HE Students Environmental Dispositions Start Date: 04/12/2023 End Date: 26/10/2024
Kaytlin Blackmore Transgressing the Boundaries of Play: An Analysis of Virtual Reality Horror Videogames. Start Date: 01/10/2024

Qualifications

PhD October 31 2008
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy SFHEA

Links

Northumbria Open Days

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Research at Northumbria

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