The media plays a central role in our perceptions and understanding of ourselves as individuals and social beings and our society. It acts as both a mirror of our hopes and fears and drives the cultural changes that lead to the future we imagine for ourselves. Research in the Film & TV department offers a critical perspective on contemporary media, stimulates innovative thinking and the development of innovative products in the sector, and gives a new public profile to Britain's rich cultural history from the invention of the moving image onwards.

Our work has played an important role in preserving the cultural heritage of women's television programming in Britain and conserving the built heritage of Twentieth-century Europe. It has increased public awareness of the history of British television in the late Twentieth century and highlighted the importance of visual imagery to creating and sustaining, and challenging, politcal authority.