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Dr Laura Minor

Profile

I undertook my AHRC funded PhD at the University of Leeds, completing my research in 2021. For my PhD project, I sought to ‘reclaim’ the contribution of contemporary British female writer/performers to the comedy genre in the period of the 2010s. By examining a select few case studies and working with texts, para-texts, and the contexts of cultural production, my project expanded the understanding of comedy as craft through female authorship and an intersectional lens. Examining the oeuvres of Julia Davis, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Michaela Coel, and Caitlin/Caroline Moran, I addressed four significant research questions:

  • How do these women comedy writers create their own textual practices and ‘brand’ of comedy in contemporary Britain?
  • What can this new female-authored comedy tell us about contemporary life and its everyday representation?
  • What key changes have taken place in Britain from 2010 to 2016 and what do they reveal about gender, comedy, and female authorship in the television industry?
  • Why has female-authored comedy become more prominent in the 2010s?

I am currently in the process of converting my thesis into a monograph for Edinburgh University Press. In October 2021, I joined the School of Media and Communication as a TA in Film and Media, and have taught modules including ‘Introduction to Cinema’, ‘Social Issues on Screen’, ‘Working in Digital Media Teams’, and ‘Screen Narrative’.

Research interests

Areas of expertise

  • television
  • film
  • feminism
  • gender
  • social class
  • performance
  • comedy
  • authorship

Main research interests

  • television studies
  • women’s authorship
  • women’s labour in the media industries
  • intersections between gender, comedy, and class on film
  • Anglo-American TV

Books

  • Minor, LJ, (forthcoming). Reclaiming Female Authorship in Contemporary British Television Comedy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Book Chapters

  • Minor, LJ., (forthcoming). Redefining ‘Unruliness’ through ‘Intersectionality’ in Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum and London’s East End, in J. Marshall and M. Irwin, eds., This Country: UK Comedy Cultures. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal Articles

  • Johnson, BL & Minor, LJ., 2019. Shameless television: gendering transnational narratives, Feminist Media Studies, 19:3, 364–379, DOI:10.1080/14680777.2018.1468795.

Online Articles

Conferences

  • Winner of the Postgraduate Research Poster Showcase at the BAFTSS 2021 Conference on ‘Time and the Body in Film, TV, and Screen Studies’ 7–9 April, hosted by BAFTSS and the University of Southampton Centre for International Film Research (CIFR).
  • Minor, LJ., 2021. Alma’s (Not) Normal: Normalising Working-Class Women in BBC TV Comedy”, paper presented at the Doing Women’s Film & TV History conference, 10–11 July, 2021, Virtual.
  • Minor, LJ., 2019. Julia Davis: Reclaiming Female Authorship in British Television Comedy, paper presented at the Overlooked Women in Film and Television conference (CATHICon), 14 June, De Montfort University.
  • Minor, LJ., 2018. The Disruptive Properties of Michaela Coel's Chewing Gum, paper presented at the Comedy and Power conference (Mixed Bill), 9/10 November, Sheffield Hallam University.

Awards

  • TV PhD Talent Scheme 2019: Selected to attend the Edinburgh Television Festival and participate in a programme of sessions, receive training to develop skills, make contacts, and increase my knowledge of the television industry.
  • The White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities 2017: Awarded a full scholarship to complete a PhD in Media and Communication at the University of Leeds.
  • Keele Postgraduate Support Scheme Scholarship 2015/16: Awarded a full scholarship of £10,000 to complete an MRes in Film and Television Studies at Keele University.
  • “The Shane Meadows Prize in Film Studies” 2014/15: Achieved the best overall performance in Film Studies in my undergraduate degree.
  • “English Final Year Prize” 2014/15: Awarded the “English Final Year Prize” for attaining the highest marks in English Literature in my undergraduate degree.

Professional memberships

  • BAFTSS (British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies)
  • MeCCSA (Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association)
  • WFTHN (Women’s Film and Television History Network)

Qualifications

  • MRes in Film/TV Studies (Distinction)
  • BA (Hons) in Film Studies/English Literature