Putting the “me” in Academy

A central question was posed during the keynote sessions for the University of Birmingham’s 2025 Creative Practice Colloquium: ‘When did we start apologising for bringing ourselves into our research?’ This core tension has been at the heart of the CPC since its inception in 2023, which opened with Dr Richard Langley’s keynote provocation: ‘There’s no place in academia for someone like you.’ Now Head of the Film and Creative Writing Department, Richard led the Audiovisual PhD discussion group from which the CPC evolved, with the first iteration developed and delivered by Nina Jones, Jemma Saunders and Ella Wright.