Professor of Language and Culture
I teach mainly on BA (Hons) English: Creative and Professional Writing where I specialise in English Language, particularly sociolinguistics. My research specialisms are in language and gender, particularly masculinities, femininities, and sexuality. This intersects with my other research into children's fiction, particularly books for younger readers. I am also interested in media discourses and how politeness theory can be applied to unscripted media texts.
In 2018/19, I was Guest Professor at Örebro University, Sweden where I worked with the Media and Communications team.
I am co-editor of the Bloomsbury International Library of Gender in Popular Culture, and co-convenor of the Ross Priory Broadcast Talk Seminar Groups.
With Sunderland Culture, I run the Rebel Women of Sunderland project that seeks to raise awareness of some of the remarkable women who are linked to the city.
Teaching and supervision
I teach at all levels, from Foundation to PhD, across all English Language subjects. I have supervised several PhD theses which were in the areas of gender, racism, and children's fiction.
Research interests for potential research students
I am interested in supervising students who have an interest in politeness theory, gender, and media discourses.
Research
My research is linked to my teaching in that one feeds into the other. I have particular interests in gender and have written extensively on this topic. I am co-editor of the Bloomsbury International Library of Gender in Popular Culture. I am one of the convenors of the Ross Priory International Broadcast Talk Seminar Group. I have a developing research interest in how food is communicated, and I'm a member of a European group that is exploring this from an interdisciplinary perspective: FoodKom.
Publications
Article
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2024) Needs Musk: Trump turns to the manosphere. Election Analysis US 2024.
Smith, Angela and Pearce, Michael (2024) To leaflet or nor to leaflet? The question of election leafleting in Sunderland Central. Election Analysis UK 2024. ISSN 978-1-910042-37-3
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2024) Not playing the game: political talk, hybridity and performance. Journalism. ISSN 1464-8849 (In Press)
Smith, Angela, Higgins, Michael and Rathnayake, Chamil (2023) Emergent Twitter publics through political scandal: an example from the Covid-19 crisis in the UK. Journal of Language and Politics, 22 (4). ISSN 1569-2159
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2022) Mask communication: the development of the face covering as a semiotic resource through government public health posters in England and Wales. Discourse, Context and Media, 50. pp. 1-11. ISSN 2211-6958
Smith, Angela (2021) Angels, Monsters, and Zombies: Defining Us and Them in First World War Poetry and Art. The Revenant, 7. pp. 44-68. ISSN 2397-8791
Angela, Smith and Michael, Higgins (2021) Mute force and ignorance: incivility and gender in Scotland. Politics Quarterly. ISSN 1532-4400
Andersson, Helen and Smith, Angela (2021) Flags and fields: a comparative analysis of national identity in butter packaging in Sweden and the UK. Social Semiotics. ISSN 1035-0330
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2020) Tough guys and little rocket men: @RealDonaldTrump's Twitter feed and the normalisation of banal masculinity. Social Semiotics. ISSN 1035-0330
Smith, Angela (2020) Clean eating's surprising normalisation: the case of Nigella Lawson. Discourse, Context and Media. ISSN 2211-6958
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2020) The mediated communication of gender and equality in contemporary politics: from equality of representation to the re-emergence of the masculine. Journal of Language and Politics, 19 (1). ISSN 1569-2159
Smith, Angela (2020) Just call me Dave: David Cameron's perilous populist status. Journal of Language and Politics. ISSN 1569-2159
Smith, Angela (2019) "How the hell did this get on tv?" Naked dating shows as the final taboo on mainstream tv. European Journal of Cultural Studies. ISSN 1367-5494
Smith, Angela (2017) Bulging biceps and tender kisses: the sexualisation of fatherhood. Social Semiotics. ISSN 1035-0330
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2016) Flirtation, desire and cut-glass biscuit barrels: forms of expertise on Antiques Road Trip. Discourse, Context and Media.
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2016) Flirtation, desire,and cut-glass biscuit barrels:Forms of expertise in Antiques Road Trip. Discourse, Context and Media, 14. pp. 1-8. ISSN 2211-6958
Drake, Philip and Smith, Angela (2016) Belligerent broadcasting, male antiauthoritarianism and anti-environmentalism: the case of Top Gear (BBC, 2002–2015). Environmental Communication, 10 (6). pp. 689-703. ISSN 1752-4032
Smith, Angela (2015) Mediated political masculinities: the commander-in-chief vs. the new man. Social Semiotics. ISSN 1035-0330
Smith, Angela (2014) Letting Down Rapunzel: feminism's effects of fairy tales. Children's Literature in Education, 46 (4). pp. 424-437. ISSN 0045-6713
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael T. (2014) Disaffiliation and Belonging: Twitter and its agnostic publics. Sociologia e Politiche Sociali,, 17 (2). pp. 77-89. ISSN 1591-2027
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael T. (2014) Belligerent broadcasting: antagonism in media talk. SemiotiX New Series, XN (12). ISSN 1916-7296
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2013) "My husband, my hero": selling the political spouses in the 2010 general election. Journal of Political Marketing, 12 (2-3). pp. 197-210. ISSN 1537-7857 print/ 1537-7865 online
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2012) Introduction: Reporting war – history, professionalism and technology. Journal of War and Culture Studies, 5 (2). pp. 131-136. ISSN 1752 6272
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2012) Strategy, evasion and performance in the live two-way: Kate Adie reporting from Iraq for the BBC. Journal of War and Culture Studies, 5 (2). pp. 203-218. ISSN 1752 6272
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2012) The convenient ambiguity of 'tone': Style and the politics of witnessing in Kate Adie's reporting of the Dunblane tragedy. Journalism. ISSN 1464-8849
Smith, Angela, Higgins, Michael, Montgomery, Martin and Tolson, Andrew (2011) Belligerent broadcasting and makeover television: professional incivility in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. International Journal of Cultural Studies. ISSN 1367-8779
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2011) Not one of U.S.: Kate Adie's report of the 1986 US bombing of Tripoli and its critical aftermath. Journalism Studies, 12 (3). pp. 344-358. ISSN 1461-670X
Smith, Angela (2010) Discourses of morality and truth in social welfare: the surveillance of British widows of the First World War. Social Semiotics, 20 (5). pp. 519-535. ISSN 1035-0330
Smith, Angela (2010) Lifestyle television programmes and the construction of the expert host. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 13 (2). pp. 191-205.
Smith, Angela (2008) 'New man or son of the Manse?' Gordon Brown as a reluctant celebrity father. British Politics, 3 (4). pp. 556-575. ISSN 1746-918X
Smith, Angela (2008) 'The girl behind the man behind the gun': women as carers in recruitment posters of the First World War. Journal of War and Culture Studies, 1 (3). pp. 223-241. ISSN 1752-6272
Smith, Angela (2006) Paddington Bear: a case study of immigration and otherness. Children's Literature in Education, 37 (1). pp. 35-50. ISSN 0045-6713
Smith, Angela (2002) Pitied but Distrusted: a critical discourse analysis of British widows of the First World War. Quaderns de Filologia, Estudis Linguistics, vii. pp. 145-161. ISSN 1135-4178
Book Section
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2024) Toxic Masculinity and Banal Populism. In: Media, Populism and Hate Speech. Brill. (In Press)
Smith, Angela, Higgins, Michael and McKay, Fiona (2024) Emotional authority in presenting the later Covid-19 strategy: the speeches and statements of Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon. In: The Nation in the Time of Pandemic: International Media Narratives of the Covid-19 Crisis. Palgrave, Basingstoke, pp. 177-196. ISBN 978-3-031-56661-5
Smith, Angela (2024) A Better Way to Start the Day: Pseudoscience, Health and Synthetic Personalisation in Breakfast Cereal Packaging. In: Food Marketing and Selling Healthy Lifestyles with Science: Transhistorical Perspectives. Routledge, Abingdon, p. 211. (In Press)
Martin, Caitlin and Smith, Angela (2023) Gender, Sexuality and the UN's SDGs: Introduction. In: Gender, Sexuality and the UN's SDGs: a multidisciplinary approach. Sustainable Development Goals series . Palgrave Macmillan, Switzerland, pp. 1-16. ISBN 978-3-031-31045-4
Dalton, Andrew (2023) Have We Left Behind the Rainbow Warriors? The Climate Emergency and Its Impact on Global Queer People and Their Communities. In: Gender, Sexuality and the UN's SDGs: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Sustainable Development Goals Series . Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp. 17-40. ISBN 978-3-031-31046-1
Sadler, Barbara (2023) 'T'Ain't Right, T'Ain't Fair, T'Ain't Proper': Examining the Representations of Women in Poldark. In: Gender, Sexuality and the UN's SDGs. SpringerNature. (In Press)
Smith, Angela (2022) 'A great prop of the school': The place of Sunderland Church High School in understanding The place of Sunderland Church High School in understanding Eileen O'Shaughnessy. In: George Orwell Studies. Abramis, 1, pp. 1-19. ISBN 1845498089
Smith, Angela (2022) Tabloid television. In: The Sage Encyclopaedia of Journalism. Sage, Thousand Oaks, pp. 1594-1597. ISBN 9781544391151
Smith, Angela (2020) “Enough of this PC-crazed Nonsense”: The Backlash Against Gender Equality as Personified by Emma Watson. In: Gender Equality in Changing Times: Multidisciplinary reflections on struggles and progress. Palgrave, London, pp. 131-151. ISBN 9783030265694
Atkinson, Stephanie (2020) Female Role Models in a Male-Dominated Workplace: Do We Still Need Their Influence Today? In: Gender Equality in Changing Times Multidisciplinary Reflections on Struggles and Progress. Palgrave, pp. 17-38. ISBN 9783030265700
Janfeshar Nobari, Juila and Armstrong, Paul-Alan (2020) Prisoners of Inclusivity: Perspective on Spirituality, Humanism and Place. In: Gender Equality in Changing Times Multidisciplinary Reflections on Struggles and Progress. Palgrave. ISBN 9783030265700
Smith, Angela (2020) Introduction to Gender Equality in Changing Times. In: Gender Equality in Changing Times: Multidisciplinary reflections on struggles and progress. Palgrave, London, pp. 1-14. ISBN 9783030265694
Smith, Angela (2020) Male stereotypes: the sexy dad and the caring father. In: International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media and Communication. John Wiley & Sons Inc. ISBN 9781119429104
Smith, Angela, Montgomery, Martin and Higgins, Michael (2019) Political offensiveness in the mediated public sphere: The performative play of alignments. In: Media and the Politics of Offence. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK, pp. 23-46. ISBN 978-3-030-17574-0
Smith, Angela (2018) Gender in "crisis", everyday sexism and the Twittersphere. In: Crisis and the Media. Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture (76). John Benjamins, Amsterdam, pp. 231-260. ISBN 9789027200341
Chambers, Donna and Worrall, Rob (2017) The frontiers of sisterhood: representations of black feminism in Spare Rib (1972-1979). In: Re-reading Spare Rib. Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 159-178. ISBN 978-3-319-49309-1
Kerr-Koch, Kathleen (2017) On the Road: Spare Rib, Liberation and Women’s Writing. In: Re-reading Spare Rib. Springer, pp. 213-230. ISBN 978-3-319-49310-7
Bryans, Trish, Fraser, Helen and Armstrong, Paul-Alan (2017) Workplace - Women's Place? In: Re-reading Spare Rib. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 99-118. ISBN 978-3-319-49309-1
Quaid, Sheila (2017) Reflections on Reading Spare Rib: Personal and Political. In: Re-reading Spare Rib. Palgrave macmillan. ISBN 978-3-319-49309-1
Smith, Angela (2015) Big sister tv: bossiness, bullying and banter in early twenty-first century make-over television. In: Twenty-first Century Feminism: forming and performing femininity. Palgrave, London, pp. 41-65. ISBN 9781137492845
Smith, Angela (2015) Introduction to Twenty-first Century Feminism: forming and performing femininity. In: Twenty-first Century Feminism: forming and performing femininity. Palgrave, London, pp. 1-16. ISBN 9781137492845
Smith, Angela (2013) From girl power to lady power?: Postfeminism and Ladette to Lady. In: Naked Exhibitionism: Gendered performance and public exposure. I.B. Tauris, London, pp. 137-164. ISBN 10 1848858523
Smith, Angela (2013) Naked Exhibitionism: Introduction. In: Naked Exhibitionism: Gendered performance and public exposure. I.B. Tauris, London, pp. 1-18. ISBN 10 1848858523
Smith, Angela (2011) Femininity repackaged: postfeminism and Ladette to Lady. In: Women on Screen: feminism and femininity in visual culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 167-184.
Smith, Angela (2009) Tabloid television. In: Encyclopedia of journalism. SAGE Publications, London, pp. 1365-1368.
Smith, Angela (2008) Top Gear as a bastion of male heterosexuality. In: Popular Media and communication: essays on publics, practices and processes. Cambridge Scholars Press, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, pp. 82-101. ISBN 1-84718-626-2
Smith, Angela and Quaid, Sheila Introduction to Re-Reading Spare Rib. In: Re-Reading Spare Rib. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 1-20. ISBN 978-3-319-49310-7
Smith, Angela Styling feminism: the view from Spare Rib. In: Re-Reading Spare Rib. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 119-136. ISBN 978-3-319-49310-7
Reports, briefing/ working papers
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2024) Submission to UK Parliament, The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee “The future of news: impartiality, trust and technology”. Other. UNSPECIFIED. (Submitted)
Conference or Workshop Item
Smith, Angela (2018) Slow TV: the mesmerising antidote to political maelstroms. In: 26th Ross Priory International Broadcast Talk Seminar, 16-18 Jul 2018, Ross Priory, Scotland. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2018) Hypermasculinity, Twitter, and #MAGA. In: Georgetown University Round Table GURT 2018, 09-11 Mar 2018, Georgetown University, Washington, USA. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2017) How the Hell did this get on TV? Naked dating shows as the final taboo on mainstream tv. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk Seminar: Ross Priory, 3-6 Jul 17, Ross Priory, Balloch, Scotland. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2016) ‘Sincerity, authenticity and broadcast sociability: the case of First Dates’. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk Seminar, 8-9 Sep 2016, Hellenic Army Academy, Athens, Greece.
Smith, Angela (2016) ‘Cooking to be happy: Simply Nigella and the rise of mindful cooking’. In: FoodKom Research Seminar, 16-18 Jun2016, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Smith, Angela (2015) Argument as sociability: banter, irony and teasing. In: Orebro University Seminar Series, Nov 2015, Orebro, Sweden.
Smith, Angela (2015) The creation of community in public participation broadcasting. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk seminar, 6-9 Jul 2015, Ross Priory, Scotland. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2014) Flirtation, desire and desperation: the shameless strategies of persuasion in Antiques Road Trip. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk seminar, 2-4 Jul 2014, Brest, France. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2013) The meaning of live: the persistence of live tv in the digital age. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk Seminar hosted by University of Strathclyde, July 2013, Ross Priory, Scotland. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2013) Victory Babies: the State and the Child in the First World War. In: Approaching War: Europe, 16-17 Mar 2013, Newcastle University, UK. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2012) Making a drama out of a crisis: Crimewatch as entertainment tv. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk Research Seminar, 12-Jul-2012, Ross Priory, University of Strathclyde. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2011) Evasion and ignorance: the usefulness of live two-ways and the embedded reporter. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk seminar, July 2011, Siena, Italy. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2011) "Like any proud young dad”: David Cameron and celebrity fatherhood. In: Mediated politics: the ‘cultural turn’ in political communication research, 8 Oct 2011, University of Leeds, UK. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2011) The girl behind the man behind the gun. In: War and Gender Conference, 12 Mar 2011, Newcastle University. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2010) Emotionality and massacres. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk seminar, July 2010, Bertinoro, Italy. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2010) "Hello Kate, are you there?” the early days of the live two-way. In: Diachronic changes in broadcast news research seminar., December 2010, Macau. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2010) Reporting from Tripoli: a comparison of Kate Adie’s reporting of 1986 and John Simpson’s of 2011. In: Communication Studies research seminar, May 2010, LUISS, Rome, Italy. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2009) Belligerent Broadcasting and Business on Television. In: 59th International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Conference, 21-25 May 2009, Chicago, Illinois, USA. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2009) Big Sister tv? Bullying, banter and humiliation in makeover tv. In: Ross Priory Broadcast Talk seminar: Belligerence in Broadcast Talk, 13-16 Sep 2009, Ross Priory, Strathclyde University, Scotland. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2009) ‘When the knives are out’: Gordon Ramsay as a case study of belligerent broadcasting. In: English research seminar, March 2009, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2008) “New man” or “son of the manse”? Gordon Brown as a reluctant celebrity father. In: 58th Political Studies Association Annual Conference, 1-3 Apr 2008, Swansea University, UK. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2008) Not one of US: the delicate art of impartiality in journalistic practice. In: MeCCSA with AMPE annual conference, 9-11 Jan 2008, Cardiff University. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2007) Confidential enquiries: British widows of the First World War. In: Conference hosted by the Centre for Research into Gender in Culture and Society (GENCAS); The Merry Widow: rethinking widowhood in history, culture and society, 7-9 Jul 2007, University of Wales, Swansea. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2007) Femininity repackaged: postfeminism and Ladette to Lady. In: Feminism and Popular Culture, June 2007, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2007) Old lads in new cars? Top Gear as a bastion of heterosexual masculinity. In: MeCCSA with AMPE Annual Conference, 10-12 Jan 2007, Coventry, UK. (Unpublished)
Smith, Angela (2005) Lifestyle television and the construction of the expert host. In: Language, Culture, Communication: third international conference, 23-25 Nov 2005, University of Evora, Portugal. (Unpublished)
Book
Smith, Angela and Dalton, Andrew (2023) Gender, Sexuality and the UN's SDGs: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Sustainable Development Goals Series . Springer Link, London. ISBN 978-3-031-31046-1
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2020) The Language of Journalism: a multi-genre approach. Second edition. Bloomsbury, London. ISBN 9781501351679
Smith, Angela (2017) Re-Reading Spare Rib. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. ISBN 978-3-319-49310-7
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2016) Belligerent Broadcasting: Synthetic Argument in Broadcast Talk. Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN 9781472425928
Smith, Angela and Nally, Claire (2015) Twenty-first Century Feminism: forming and performing femininity. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. ISBN 978-1-137-49284-5
Smith, Angela and Nally, Claire, eds. (2015) Twenty-first century feminism: forming and performing femininity. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. ISBN 978137492845
Smith, Angela and Higgins, Michael (2013) The Language of Journalism: a multi-genre perspective. Bloomsbury Acadmic, London and New York. ISBN 978-1-84966-066-2
Smith, Angela and Nally, Claire, eds. (2013) Naked Exhibitionism: Gendered performance and public exposure. I.B. Tauris, London. ISBN 978-1-84885-852-7
Nally, Claire and Smith, Angela (2013) Naked Exhibitionism: gendered performance and public exposure. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781848858527
Smith, Angela (2012) Discourses Surrounding British Widows of the First World War. Bloomsbury. ISBN 10-1780932014
Thesis
Smith, Angela (2007) ‘Pitied but distrusted’: Discourses surrounding British widows of the First World War. Doctoral thesis, University of Sunderland.
Artefact
Smith, Angela (2016) Seagull City: Sunderland's Literary and Cultural Heritage. [Artefact]
I have particular expertise in politeness theory and its application to unscripted spoken interaction in the media. I am also interested in the integration of social media with traditional media. My particular interest in gender relates to 21st century developments in femininity and masculinity.