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Dr James Dennis is a Researcher at the Centre for Research in Applied Communication, Culture, and New Technologies (CICANT), Universidade Lusófona (Portugal), Co-Convenor of the Political Studies Association Media and Politics Group (UK), and Co-Editor of Political Studies Review (UK). James was previously a Senior Lecturer in Political Communication and Journalism at the University of Portsmouth for over eight years. His research interests lie in political communication and journalism, with a focus on social media, political participation and citizenship, and how young people experience news.
James' work has been published in the Journal of Information Technology and Politics, Journalism Studies, and Political Studies. His first monograph, Beyond Slacktivism: Political Participation on Social Media, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2018. This builds on his PhD research, for which he was awarded the American Political Science Association Information Technology and Politics Section Best Dissertation Award. He is currently working on his second book, examining how social inequality shaped the way young adults in England experienced political communication during the 2024 UK general election.
James regularly works with industry partners, carrying out social media research with the BBC World Service and the British Council, and has provided expert commentary for local, national, and international media, including domestic outlets, such as BBC Radio and Television, the Big Issue, the Guardian, and the Financial Times, and international media, such as VEJA (Brazil), TBS (South Korea), El Periódico de Catalunya (Spain), Anadolu (Turkey), Forbes, the New York Times, and Newsweek (USA).
James welcomes proposals from prospective PhD candidates interested in political communication, digital journalism and the changing news media environment, and social media and political participation.
What I'm up to
Recent publications —
I recently provided commentary to the Anadolu, Big Issue, El Periódico de Catalunya, Forbes, the Guardian, the i, Naked Politics, and VEJA.
I’ll be presenting my work at the following events. Please get in touch if you are interested in meeting with me at any of the following conferences to discuss publishing in Political Studies Review:
February 19, 2025 — Beyond Slacktivism: Social Justice Movements in the Age of Social Media. Invited presentation at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.
February 24, 2025 — Beyond Slacktivism: Political Participation on Social Media. Invited presentation at the University of Toronto.
April 16, 2025 — Disconnected but not disengaged? How social inequality shapes young people's experiences of political communication during the 2024 UK general election. Paper to be presented at the Political Studies Association Annual Conference, University of Birmingham and Aston University.
May 12, 2025 — "They Don't Understand What it Means to be Poor": How Social Inequality Shapes How Young Adults in England Experience News. Paper to be presented at the Journalism Studies: Past and Present Conference, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon.
May 20, 2025 — Examining the Dirt Under Your Fingernails: Exploring the Role of Ethnographic Research in Political Communication. Invited speaker at the Research Process Seminar Series, Bournemouth University.
With David Norman, Nora Siklodi, and Dafydd Townley (University of Portsmouth), I am a Co-Editor of Political Studies Review. We want to work with PSA specialist groups on proposals for special issues and the Symposia and New Ideas section, consisting of rapid response, short-form articles. Specialist group convenors — please get in touch if you are interested. Details on both article types can be found here.
I am co-coordinating the section for the PSA Media and Politics Group at the upcoming Political Studies Association annual international conference at the University of Birmingham and Aston University (April 14-16, 2025). Further details of our panels and social events will be shared soon — please join us :)
I am currently listening to All Things Must Pass (George Harrison), LIFELINE (Maro and Nasaya), and Eusexua (FKA Twigs) and playing Super Mario World (SNES) and Mario Tennis (GBC).