Emma Horsley-Heather

Emma is a final year PhD student in the Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies within the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics. Her interest in Japanese media studies was first ignited during the Japanese television studies module in her MA at SOAS. 

Having lived in Japan twice, her current research builds on her first-hand experience and her subsequent Masters’ degree. Her thesis is a comparative study between the BBC and NHK’s children’s television and its use as ideological state apparatus to create national identity. Drawing on an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, the study explores how de facto government broadcast children’s programming may help shape future citizens and reinforce cultural narratives. The thesis focusses particularly on gender representation which may reflect broader socio-political ideologies. The research highlights the ever-growing importance of media literacy in early childhood.

Emma is a Graduate Teaching Assistant and has taught the Contemporary Japanese Society module at SOAS. She is also an academic book reviewer for new publications in her field. Her latest conference presentation at the Transgressive Women in East Asian Screen conference focussed on Machiko Hasegawa’s Guinness World record-holding animated character “Sazae-san” in which she explored the transgressive elements of the series and the progressive, unconventional creator. She has also contributed to other publications including the International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media and Communication. Emma is a member of the European Association for Japanese Studies.

Emma has worked for Marubeni Corporation (a major Japanese general trading company, in the Machinery & Aerospace Division) and Condé Nast International (in the Asia-Pacific head office of the magazine publishing company).

Her further Japan related interests include collecting Japanese art and artefacts and modern Japanese literature. Emma has also been a student of the Urasenke tea ceremony school for two years, as well as learning Japanese Shodo calligraphy and Sumi-e ink painting.

• Japanese Culture
• Media Studies
• Children's Television
• International Children's Television