5 questions with Professor Wayne Hope
We asked Professor of Communication Studies Wayne Hope five questions about his research at the time of his Inaugural Professorial Address.
Describe your favourite/most impactful research project?
My book, Time, Communication and Global Capitalism explains how 24/7 real time dominates our experience, through global mass media, the internet and social media. By living in the ‘now’, nearly all of the time, people lose track of history and the structures of power that prevail in the present. My purpose in this book and my teaching is to show how this whole process works and to challenge it.
What gets you up in the morning?
Intellectual curiosity. I have a range of jobs to do, but the one thing that gets me going is if I’m writing an article and it’s coming along well.
What advice would you give to new or aspiring researchers?
Read the classics. Aristotle, Plato, Marx – read the classic authors in your discipline, especially philosophers.
What does being a professor mean to you?
It provides legitimacy for my ideas and arguments, allows me to provide guidance for younger scholars, and is a sign that my contributions to the University over the last 25 years have been recognised.
What are your hopes for your area of expertise/industry?
I’m currently looking at time and climate change, and I hope to apply my ideas to ecology as well as society.