Dr Christian Morgner
Summary
I am Professor of Digital Culture and Social Innovation at the University of Portsmouth, where I serve as Research Lead for the The Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality (CCIXR). In this role, I provide strategic leadership in immersive and extended reality research, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing innovative applications across the creative and technological sectors.
My work sits at the intersection of culture and society, where I develop creative technologies and future-facing solutions to address complex challenges. Grounded in process methodology and second-order systems theory, I advance sensory-driven and relational frameworks across healthcare, digital technologies, immersive realities (XR), artificial intelligence, equity and inclusion, and education.
Over the past two decades, I have collaborated with emergency and rescue services, cultural organisations, research laboratories, governmental bodies, charities, and health institutions. My projects explore intercultural understanding, technological and methodological innovation, and inclusive design, translating theoretical insight into practical and socially meaningful impact. I have secured both research council and industry funding and have published widely in international peer-reviewed journals.
Prior to joining Portsmouth, I held academic appointments at the University of Sheffield, Leicester and the University of Cambridge, and was awarded a postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Hitotsubashi University in Japan. I am also Adjunct Professor at Keio University. I have held visiting fellowships at Yale University, University of Lucerne, KU Leuven, and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.
Research outputs
2026
From innovation to adoption: Process-oriented holistic modelling for sensory-based assistive technologies in dementia care
Morgner, C., Gibson, B.
4 Feb 2026, In: Digital Health
Research output: Article
2025
Comparing engagement across online arts forms in older adults: a mixed-methods study of five disciplines
Pennill, N., Timmers, R., Morgner, C., Burnip, V., Macritchie, J.
28 Oct 2025, In: Arts and Health, 16p.
Research output: Article
Metamorphosis in motion: Olympic ceremonies as sites of relational creativity in Japan
Ikeda, M., Morgner, C., El-Barbary, M. N.
10 Jun 2025, In: Asia-Pacific Journal. 23, 16p., e9
Research output: Article
2024
An alternative theoretical approach to develop a new conception about pain in people with dementia
Morgner, C., Dening, K. H., Dening, T., Gibson, B.
23 Sep 2024, In: Medical Humanities. 50
Research output: Article
Creative industries in transition: A study of Santiago de Chile's autopoietic cultural transformation
Morgner, C., Peters, T.
1 Jun 2024, In: Poetics. 104, 18p., 101891
Research output: Article
2023
The medium in the sociology of Niklas Luhmann: from children to human beings
Morgner, C.
10 Dec 2023, In: Educational Theory. 73, 6, p. 890-916, 27p.
Research output: Article
2022
Digital heritage politics from the perspective of relational sociology: the case of Nüshu culture in China
Morgner, C., Hu, X., Ikeda, M., Selg, P.
4 May 2022, In: International Review of Sociology. 32, 2, p. 265-289
Research output: Article
2021
Understanding ethnicity and residential fires from the perspective of cultural values and practices: a case study of Leicester, United Kingdom
Morgner, C., Patel, H.
1 Oct 2021, In: Fire Safety Journal. 125, 11p., 103384
Research output: Article