School of Creative Arts, Film and Media (SCAFM)

I have worked at Portsmouth since 2003 and am Senior Lecturer in Film and Media Studies. My research interests lie in animation history and theory, Classical and Post-Classical Hollywood animation and British cinema and television animation, American and British graphic narrative forms; British and American comedy forms - sitcom and stand up comedy; and mainstream and independent American and British cinema. I teach and co-ordinate a number of units across SCAFM at undergraduate and postgraduate level in such areas as animation, comedy, graphic narratives and mainstream cinema and television.

Doctoral thesis successfully completed August 2012:  Drawing  Comic Traditions: British Television Animation from 1997-2010.  University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth.

Currently awaiting news on monograph publication.

Publications^{[Back to top]}

Publication since 2008 [IR]

PhD Thesis^{[Back to top]}

Norris, V. (2012). Drawing on Comic Tradition: British Television Animation from 1997-2010. University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth.

Book Chapters^{[Back to top]}

Norris, V. (Forthcoming). ‘C’mon Mum, Wednesday night is jihad night…’: ideas on regionalism, representation and comic narrative within BBC TV’s Monkey Dust. In J. F. Baillon (Ed.), Cinéma britannique: les années Blair’: CinémAction (pp. 00-00). Paris: Corlet/Télérama.

Norris, V. (Forthcoming) Numerous contributions within the 2013 follow up to L. Geraghty (Ed.). (2011). Directory of World Cinema: American Hollywood. Intellect Publishing.

Norris, V. 'Animation’ and Overview of Disney's Fantasia'. In L. Geraghty (Ed.). (2011). Directory of World Cinema: American Hollywood. Intellect Publishing.

Norris, V. ‘John Barry - 007 and Counting’. In G. Harper and J. Eisentraut. (Eds). (2009). The Continuum Companion to Sound in Film and the Visual Media. London: Continuum

Norris, V. ‘Retro Landscapes: Reorganising the Frontier for Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone’ - In Geraghty, L. (Ed). (2009). Channelling the Future: Essays on Science Fiction and Fantasy Television. Scarecrow Press.

Norris, V. (2007). Interior logic: the appropriation of surrealism into popular American animation. In G. Harper & R. Stone (Eds.), The Unsilvered Screen: surrealism and cinema (pp. 72-89). London: Wallflower.

Journal Articles^{[Back to top]}

"Touching Cloth...": Considering Satire and the Clergy in Popular Contemporary British Animation. Animation Studies - On Line Peer Reviewed Online Journal for Animation History and Theory (June 2010).

"Taking an appropriate line" - Assessing representation of disability within popular animation forms. Animation Studies - On Line Peer Reviewed Online Journal for Animation History and Theory (December 2008).

‘Yeah, looks like it n’all…’: Mapping the relationship between the ‘live action’ universe, abridged figurative design and computer animation within Modern Toss’- animation: an interdisciplinary journal, (November 2008).

Presentations^{[Back to top]}

(2010, July). 'In the City': Animating 21st Century Britain - 'Animation Evolution'. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society of Animation Studies Conference: ‘Animation Evolution’, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland UK.

(2010, June).  'Them come from Tipton...they take it dead serious up there...': Negotiating 21st Century TV Animation Representation. Paper presented at the meeting of NECS European Conference: 'Urban Mediations', Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey.

(2010, May). 'American: The Bill Hicks Story': Introduction 'Role of the Stand-Up: comedians who say the unsayable', Chapter Arts Cinema, Canton, Cardiff, Wales, UK.

(2010, March). 'Watch Me: Animation, Representation and Incongruity. Paper presented at the meeting of the Arts University College Bournemouth Conference 2010, Bournemouth, England UK.

(2009, September). ‘It’ll never feel this good again’: Nostalgic narratives within The Animated Comic Book Adaptation. Paper presented at the meeting of Cinema and the Visual Arts: ‘Framing Film' Conference, University of Winchester, Winchester, Hampshire, England, UK.

(2009, July). "Touching Cloth": Satire, Representation and The Clergy in Contemporary Mainstream UK TV Animation. - Paper presented at the meeting of the Society of Animation Studies Conference 2009: ‘The Persistence of Animation’, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, Georgia, UK.

(2008, July). Chair for ‘An Evening with Aardman’s Richard Golezowski’ July 18th Animation Unlimited International conference July 2008 in conjunction with the Bournemouth Institute of Arts and the Society of Animation Studies, England UK.

 (2008, July). ‘Taking an appropriate line’: Assessing representation of disability within popular animation forms. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society of Animation Studies Conference 2008: ‘Animation Unlimited’, Arts University College Bournemouth Conference, Bournemouth, England, UK.

(2008, June). ‘What a nice lad...he does take his jihad seriously though doesn’t he?’: Assessing comic interpretations of the 'threat within' through the narratives of Monkey Dust.  Paper presented at the meeting of the 'Funny People Those Foreigners': Comedy Conference, University of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester, England UK.

(2008, March). ‘C’mon Mum, Wednesday Night is Jihad Night…’ - Ideas on Regionalism, Representation and Comic Narrative within BBC TV’s Monkey Dust. Paper presented at the meeting of the Popular Culture Association Conference, San Francisco Marriot Hotel, San Francisco, California, USA.

(2007, November). 'That's You That Is': - A Workshop on Animation, Form and Identity. Portsmouth Screen Festival 2007, England Uk.

(2007, August). "You’re stuck in a rut, mate..." Assessing the alliance between repetition, form and meaning within Link and Bunnage’s Modern Toss. Paper presented at the meeting of the ‘Aesthetics of Trash Conference’: Reassessing Animation and the Comic, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK.

(2007, July). “Yeah, looks like it n'all..." - Abstraction, Space, Graphic Images and Thematics within the work of Link Bunnage. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society of Animation Studies: ‘Animation Universe Conference’, University of Portland, Oregon, USA.

(2007, July).''Drawing on the sitcom- Processing Culture and Form'. The Metro Cinema/Arts Centre. Derby Metro Arts Centre, England UK.

(2007, May). "Unpack that…!" - Isolation and Working Class address within Link and Bunnage’s Modern Toss. Paper presented at the meeting of the ‘What Have You Got in That Box?’ - Regional/National Comedy, Screens & British Identity Conference, University of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester, England UK.

(2005, April). 'Fifteen Storeys High - The Collision of Comedy and the Social Realist tradition’. Laughing Matters - Comedy Conference, University of Portsmouth, England UK.

Editorial Boards^{[Back to top]}

Editorial board member: 'Animation Studies - Peer reviewed on-line journal for Animation History and Theory' (from August 2008)

Science Fiction Research Association (from October 2006)

Regular book reviewer for Sage Publications (from April 2005)

External Examiner – City College, Norwich (2005-2008)