Marta Wójtowicz

Profile

I joined the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies in 2024 as a full-time PhD student, funded by the White Rose College of Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH).

I hold a BA (Hons) in Media and Cultural Studies from Lancaster University (First Class Honours) and an MA in Visual Culture from Durham University (Distinction). My academic journey has been shaped by a strong interest in the intersections of media, identity, and cultural geopolitics, particularly in relation to Eastern Europe and Slavicness in digital culture. My master’s dissertation, The European Semi-Periphery Laughs Back: Analysing Representations of Eastern European Masculinities and Femininities from Euro-Orientalism to Self-Euro-Orientalism, laid the groundwork for my current research. 

My PhD focuses on the self-representations of Eastern Europeans and Slavs in digital media, considering how colonial legacies, gender politics, and cultural hierarchies shape online narratives. I explore how “Slavicness” emerges as an identity category and how it is performed, consumed and reimagined in online spaces. Of particular interest is the role of ethnic humour and folklore, which reveal the gendered nature of representations of Eastern Europeans and Slavs. 

Research interests

• Postcolonial perspectives on Eastern Europe
• Euro-Orientalism
• “Slavicness” as an identity category in online spaces
• Ethnic humour, irony and stereotypes in digital media
• The intersection of gender, ethnicity and geopolitics in self-representation

Qualifications

• MA Visual Culture, Durham University (2021)
• BA (Hons) Media and Cultural Studies, Lancaster University (2020)