Dr Amy C. Chambers
Senior Lecturer in Film & Media Studies
My profile
Biography
I am a senior lecturer in film studies and joined Manchester Metropolitan University in 2018. I predominately work in the fields of science communication and screen studies and I am particularly interested in the relationship between entertainment media and the public understanding of science.
My research examines the intersection of science and entertainment media, the representation of women scientists, science-based fiction screen media, imagined future of AI, and gendered filmmaking practices. I have previously researched and taught in the fields of visual culture, film history and theory, science communication, and science fiction studies at Newcastle University, the University of Manchester, and Bangor University. I was awarded my PhD in History and Film from Bangor University in 2013 (‘Film & History: Planet of the Apes as History’).
I am particularly interested in promoting women’s participation in the creative industries from both scientific and media production perspectives. I am currently developing a major activist/research project exploring the representation and projected futures of women and minority groups within scientific cultures and imagined futures in science-based fictions. I began a project during the lockdown looking specifically at women-created science fiction media and I am currently watching and reviewing my way through every SF film directed by a woman - you can follow the project on my Women Make SF website and via the podcast Women Make SF Across the Media Universe.
My most recent publications explore medical history and horror in The Exorcist (1973); representations of women scientists in Anglo-American film and TV; the science fiction (SF) films of religious icon Charlton Heston; the interpellations of science and religion in Planet of the Apes; the mediation of women’s scientific expertise in mass media; science and technology in Star Trek; socio-technoscientific imaginaries and SF literature; and women-directed horror and SF cinema.
My ongoing research projects include: Science at the Intersection: ‘Gender, STEM, and Media’ and ‘Women Make SF: Gender is Not a Genre’, and I am currently developing a project to explore working class student confidence and barriers to participation in the creative industries.
Alongisde my academic publications I have contributed pieces on science and entertainment to a broad range publications including: The Guardian; BBC History Magazine; The Conversation; Microbiology Today; Vector; Research Fortnight; and Viewfinder. I regularly contribute my research and expertise to international events including: Leeds Film Festival; EasterCon; the National Astronomy Meeting; the CBS Destination Star Trek Convention; British Science Festival; Bristol Science Film Festival; Pint of Science; Silbersalz Science and Media Festival; and the Copenhagen Documentary Festival (CPH:DOX*). I also regularly work with HOME, a local arts venue, introducing screenings and leading discussions, and I taught a course on Women in Science Fiction as part of their 2019 ‘Celebrating Women in Global Cinema’ season.
Teaching
I teach on a variety of undergraduate units across the Film and Media Studies degree pathway. In 2021/22 I taught on Metropolis (level 4); Approaches to Film 2 (level 4); World Cinema (unit leader, level 5); and Theorising the Screen (level 5). For the 2022/23 academic session I will also be teaching a new unit called Immersive Media.
I am currently the primary supervisor for three postgraduate researchers (PGRs) across a range of interdisciplinary doctoral projects:
- Occulta Dama ‘Our Soil Needs us; Animating Entomological Activism, How animation can inspire compassion and alter public consciousness’ (2021-2024)
- Iyun Yemi-Shodimu ‘Black Masculinity in Science Fiction and Afrofuturist Media’ (2021-2024)
- Ellie Miller ‘Rape, Revenge and Reclamation: Re-Thinking the Rape Revenge Narrative Through Women’s Authorship’ (2021-2024).
Research outputs
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Books (authored/edited/special issues)
Chambers, A., Iossifidis, M., Verran, J., Garforth, L. (2025) Reading Science Fiction: Sociality, Publics and Pleasures. Palgrave.
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Chapters in books
Chambers, A. (2023) 'The Limits of Life: medical experimentation, bodily consent, and bioethics in Trouble Every Day (2001) and High Life (2018).' In Sloane, P. (ed.) ReFocus: the films of Claire Denis. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
Chambers, A. (2023) 'Virological Vampires.' In Bacon, S. (ed.) The Palgrave Handbook of the Vampire. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-20.
Chambers, A., Skains, R.L. (2022) 'Science and technology.' In Garcia-Siino, L., Mittermeier, S., Rabitsch, S. (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Star Trek. Routledge, pp. 348-356.
Chambers, A. (2022) 'Representing Women in STEM Science-Based in Film and Television.' In Jones, C., Martin, A.E., Wolf, A. (ed.) The Palgrave Handbook of Women and Science since 1660. Palgrave,
Chambers, A., Thompson, S. (2020) 'Women, Science and the Media.' In Ross, K. (ed.) The International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication. Wiley,
Chambers, A., Garforth, L. (2020) 'Reading Science: SF and the Uses of Literature.' In Ahuja, N., Allewaert, M., Andrews, L., Canavan, G., Evans, R., Farooq, N.M., Fretwell, E., Gaskill, N., Jagoda, P., Lamb, E., Rhee, J., Rusert, B., Taylor, M.A., Vadde, A., Wald, P., Walsh, R. (ed.) The Palgrave Handbook of Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Literature and Science. Palgrave Macmillan,
Chambers, A. (2020) 'The (re)birth of pregnancy horror in Alice Lowe’s Prevenge.' In Peirse, A. (ed.) Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre. Rutgers University Press,
Chambers, A.C., Thompson, S. (2020) 'Women, Science, and the Media.' In Ross, K. (ed.) The International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication. Wiley, pp. 1-8.
Chambers, A. (2020) 'Star Trek Discovers Women: Gender, Race, Science, and Michael Burnham.' In Spychala, M., Mittermeier, S. (ed.) Fighting for the Future – Essays on Star Trek: Discovery. Liverpool University Press, pp. 267-286.
Kirby, D.A., Chambers, A.C. (2018) 'Playing God: religious influences on the depictions of science in mainstream movies.' In Nerlich, B., Hartley, S., Raman, S., Smith, A. (ed.) Science, politics and the dilemmas of openness: here be monsters. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 278-302.
Chambers, A.C., Elizabeth, H.J. (2017) 'It’s Grimm up North: Domestic Obscenity, Assimilation Anxiety, and Medical Salvation in BBC Three’s In the Flesh.' In Mazierska, E.H. (ed.) Heading North: The North of England in Film and Television. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 193-211.
Chambers, A.C. (2016) 'Challenging Perceptions of Paedophilia in Contemporary US Cinema.' In Gwynne, J. (ed.) Transgression in Anglo-American Cinema: Gender, Sex and the Deviant Body. Columbia University Press, pp. 131-146.
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Internet publications
Chambers, A. (2019) The Fall: unsettling short film captures our fears about Brexit, Trump and an uncertain future. https://theconversation.com/the-fall-unsettling-short-film-captures-our-fears-about-brexit-trump-and-an-uncertain-future-125978.
Chambers, A. (2019) There’s a reason Siri, Alexa and AI are imagined as female – sexism. https://theconversation.com/theres-a-reason-siri-alexa-and-ai-are-imagined-as-female-sexism-96430.
Chambers, A.C. (2018) Women scientists are more than capable of leading blockbuster storylines. https://theconversation.com/women-scientists-are-more-than-capable-of-leading-blockbuster-storylines-93779.
Chambers, A.C. (2018) Oscars 2018: why Andy Serkis has yet again been denied the recognition he deserves. https://theconversation.com/oscars-2018-why-andy-serkis-has-yet-again-been-denied-the-recognition-he-deserves-90588.
Chambers, A.C. (2016) You gotta make way for the Homo Superior: Mutation, Evolution, and Super Powers on Screen. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/.
Chambers, A.C. (2015) Jessica Jones: Science, Realism, & Netflix. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/jessica_jones/.
Chambers, A.C. (2015) If She Can See It, She Can Be It: Women of STEM on the Small Screen. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/stem-women-tv/.
Chambers, A.C. (2015) ‘You’re Blind, But You See So Much’: Netflix’s Daredevil and Blindness. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/daredevil/.
Chambers, A.C. (2015) Rise of the Women?: Screening Female Scientists. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/rise-of-the-women/.
Chambers, A.C. (2015) The Science Sleuths: Fighting Crime with ‘Science’ in Golden Era Comics. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/science-sleuths/.
Chambers, A.C. (2014) Nature Swipes Back: The Return of an Environmentally Conscious Cinema. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/nature-swipes-back/.
Chambers, A.C. (2014) Welcome back to humanity. Now you get to die: Vampires and… Science. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/vampires-and-science/.
Chambers, A.C. (2014) ‘Talking Apes with Big-Ass Spears’: Violence, Science, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. http://thescienceandentertainmentlab.com/violence-science-and-dawn-of-apes/.
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Journal articles
Chambers, A., McCahey, D. (2024) '1990s Dinomania: Public and Popular Cultures of Palaeontology from Jurassic Park to Friends.' Interdisciplinary Science Reviews,
Chambers, A. (2023) 'Contagion went viral: microbiology, entertainment media and the public understanding of science.' Current Clinical Microbiology Reports, 10(3) pp. 152-160.
Chambers, A. (2022) 'Book review: Television and the genetic imaginary.' Critical Studies in Television, 18(1) pp. 108-111.
Chambers, A. (2022) '‘The handsome astronomer and the yelling lady’: representing scientists and expertise in Don’t Look Up.' JCOM, 21(5) pp. C04-C04.
Chambers, A. (2021) '‘Somewhere between science and superstition’: Religious outrage, horrific science, and The Exorcist (1973).' History of the Human Sciences, 34(5) pp. 32-52.
Chambers, A., Skains, R. (2021) 'Smart Schools: AI technology and Education Futures as Imagined on Screen · Learning on Screen.' Viewfinder Magazine, (117)
Robinson, S., Baumhammer, M., Beiermann, L., Belteki, D., Chambers, A.C., Gibbons, K., Guimont, E., Heffner, K., Hill, E.L., Houghton, J., McCahey, D., Qidwai, S., Sleigh, C., Sugden, N., Sumner, J. (2020) 'Innovation in a crisis: rethinking conferences and scholarship in a pandemic and climate emergency.' The British Journal for the History of Science, 53(4) pp. 575-590.
Chambers, A. (2019) 'From Sacred to Scientific: Epic Religion, Spectacular Science and Charlton Heston’s SF Cinema.' Science Fiction Film and Television, 12(3) pp. 303-322.
Chambers, A. (2018) 'Filmmakers as Archivists of Science.' ARC Magazine, 346pp. 26-27.
Chambers, A.C. (2017) 'The Evolution of Planet of the Apes: Science, Religion, and 1960s Cinema.' Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 28(2-3) pp. 107-122.
Chambers, A.C., Skains, R.L. (2015) 'Scott Pilgrim vs. The Multimodal Mash-up: Film as Participatory Narrative.' Participations: International Journal of Audience & Reception, 12(1) pp. 102-116.
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Non-peer reviewed articles / reviews
Chambers, A.C. Why Science Fiction Set in the Near Future is so Terrifying.
Chambers, A. (2022) 'P.S. I am not mad': Playing God in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994).
Chambers, A. (2021) Screen Queens. Book Review: Women vs Hollywood.
Chambers, A. (2019) The Fall: unsettling short film captures our fears about Brexit, Trump and an uncertain future.
Chambers, A. (2018) War of the Planet of the Apes (Reeves, 2017).
Chambers, A. (2018) Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017).
Chambers, A.C. (2018) Oscars 2018: why Andy Serkis has yet again been denied the recognition he deserves.
Chambers, A.C. (2017) Movies and Scientific Accuracy.
Chambers, A.C. (2017) Sisters in Science: Ghostbusters Answer the Call.
Chambers, A.C. (2015) The Skriker: Global Warming, Eco-Fairytales, and Science on the Stage.
Chambers, A.C., Kirby, D.A., Macauley, W.R. (2015) What Entertainment can do for Science, and Vice Versa.
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Conference papers
Chambers, A. (2023) 'Gendered Vices and Women in STEMM: Towards New Complexities in Entertainment Media Representation.' In Scholarly Vices: Persistence, Transmission, and Circulation. Leiden Univeristy, Netherlands, 23/8/2023 - 25/8/2023.
Chambers, A. (2023) 'Reincarnating, Removing, and Recovering Souls in Cargo (2020) and Cold Souls (2009).' In Science, Fiction, Faith and the Future(s). The Science Museum, London, 6/6/2023 - 7/6/2023.
Chambers, A. (2022) 'The interface at the end of the world: posthuman care, mental health and memory in Aniara (2018).' In 11th BAFTSS Conference. University of Lincoln, 3/4/2023 - 5/4/2023.
Chambers, A. (2022) '"I kept my fluids to myself": Bodies, babies, and bioethics in Claire Denis’ High Life.' In When It Changed: Women in SF/F since 1972. Univeristy of Glasgow, 2/12/2022 - 4/12/2022.
Chambers, A., Garforth, L., Iossifidis, M. (2022) 'Sociology and fiction: on reading SF (in the Anthropocene).' In Thinking Like a Sociologist: Theories, Methods, and Risks – American Comparative Literature Association Virtual Seminar. Virtual, 11/2020 -
Chambers, A. (2022) 'Short Story Science/Scientists: Reader Engagements with Science and Author Identities in The Girl Who Was Plugged In and Other Stories.' In British Society for Literature and Science. Manchester, 7/4/2022 - 9/4/2022.
Chambers, A. (2022) '‘Across the desolate waves of space-night’: VR Addiction, Sentient AI and Reciprocal Care in Aniara.' In Futures of Care: Relationality and Responsibility in more than Human Worlds. Univeristy of Leeds, 8/4/2022 - 8/4/2022.
Chambers, A. (2021) 'Stanisław Lem Shorts; Roly Poly + panel conversation.' Leeds International Film Festival and Polish Cultural Institute, Leeds:
Chambers, A. (2021) 'Star Trek as Interdisciplinary Practice, or how to put the A in STE(A)MM.' In Popularizing STEM: Science and Technology in 21st-Century US Popular Culture. Virtual, 15/11/2021 - 19/11/2021.
Chambers, A. (2021) '“You’re more likely to see an alien than an Asian woman”: Onscreen diversity versus intersectional systemic decolonisation in Science/Fiction Television.' Virtual,
Chambers, A. (2021) '"We're saving white guys history?": Women scientists, new and imagined pasts, and narratives of science on screen.' University of Bournemouth,
Chambers, A., Garforth, L., Iossifidis, M. (2020) 'Sociology and fiction: on reading SF (in the Anthropocene).' In Thinking Like a Sociologist: Theories, Methods, and Risks – ACLA Virtual Seminar. Online, 11/9/2020 - 11/9/2020.
Chambers, A. (2019) 'Women, Science, and Screens.' University of Luxembourg,
Chambers, A. (2019) 'Entertaining Expertise: Science, Society, and Screen Media.' University of Luxembourg,
Chambers, A. (2019) 'Entertaining Expertise.' University of Bristol,
Chambers, A., Elizabeth, H.J. (2019) 'Inhuman caregiving, emotional labour, and the dehumanised public health service in Humans.' In Medical Humanities and the Fantastic Symposium. University of Liverpool, 19/7/2019 - 19/7/2019.
Chambers, A. (2018) 'Screening Women in STEMM since 2000.' In Science in Public 2018. Cardiff University, Wales, 17/12/2018 - 19/12/2018.
Chambers, A. (2018) '‘‘Somewhere between science and superstition’: Religious Outrage, Horrific Science, and The Exorcist’.' In History of Science, Technology & Medicine Ireland. Queen’s University Belfast, 19/10/2018 - 20/10/2018.
Chambers, A. (2018) 'A Clockwork Orange (1971) and the public understanding of behavioural therapies.' In Demons of the Mind Symposium. Science Museum, London, UK, 13/9/2018 - 14/9/2018.
Chambers, A. (2018) 'Cyborgs Take Hollywood: Cultural Responses to Possilbe AI Futures.' German Academy of Sciences, Halle (Saale),
Chambers, A.C. (2017) 'Science Fiction Filmmakers as Archivists of Science’.' In Collecting Space: Science & Technology Archives Group. Science Museum, London, 17/11/2017 - 17/11/2017.
Chambers, A.C. (2017) '‘Somewhere between science and superstition’: Religious Outrage, Horrific Science, and The Exorcist.' In International Congress for the History of Science. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 23/7/2017 - 29/7/2017.
Chambers, A.C., Elizabeth, H.J. (2017) 'Inhuman care-giving, emotional labour, and the dehumanised public health service in Humans.' In Care + Machines. Lincoln Theological Institute, University of Manchester, 20/10/2017 - 21/10/2017.
Chambers, A.C. (2017) 'Nature Strikes Back: Popular Science, Environmental Science/fictions, and Eco-activism.' In The 2nd International Conference on Anticipation. Senate House, London, 8/11/2017 - 10/11/2017.
Chambers, A. (2017) 'The Science and Documentary Filmmaking Toolkit.' Copenhagen,
Chambers, A.C., Garforth, L. (2017) 'Unsettling Scientific Stories: Fictional Futures and Sociological Speculation.' In Narrating Science: The Power of Stories in the 21st Century. Toronto, Canada, 24/5/2017 - 27/5/2017.
Chambers, A.C. (2016) '‘Somewhere between science and superstition’: Religious Outrage, Horrific Science, and The Exorcist.' In Gods and Heretics: The 2016 Film & History Conference. Milwaukee, WI, USA, 26/10/2016 - 30/10/2016.