REFRAME is an open access academic digital publishing platform for the online practice and curation of internationally produced research and scholarship. Its subject specialisms—spanning media, film, music, critical theory, english literature, history, cultural studies and journalism — are also those of its facilitator, the School of Media, Arts and Humanities (MAH) at the University of Sussex, UK. REFRAME is managed by an editorial board composed of MAH faculty, graduate researchers, and other University of Sussex associates, and it is supported by an international advisory board.
REFRAME aims to offer a range of scholarly and related creative and critical content – from relatively ephemeral or responsive forms of research output (project blogs, online film and video festivals, conferences and symposia, and audio and video podcasts) through to fully peer-reviewed online serials and monographic publications, and digital archives and assemblages.
REFRAME channels its content through a dynamic portal website that links to and publicises its multiple components. It is also active across a range of social media. Its open access ethos is underpinned by a commitment to interacting with its audiences wherever possible. Our REFRAME News blog flags up each new REFRAME endeavour, and also digests and links to related online projects, publications, news and events.
We hope that REFRAME will go on to provide an innovative, engaging and productive environment for audiovisual, audio and visual, and written digital humanities or ‘Digital-First’ research, scholarship and publishing in media, film and music, including the production, curation and online archiving of experimental work and research by practice.
Please contact us if you would like to suggest a research or publishing project for our consideration, publicise a related online initiative or website, or offer any feedback.
Diversity statement
Inclusion and diversity are hugely important REFRAME, and we are committed to publication processes that seek to decolonise Sussex and decolonise the academy more broadly*. We actively encourage project proposals that speak to decolonising aims and we are particularly interested in receiving proposals from BAME researchers, researchers in and from the global south, non-funded early career researchers and doctoral students, those in precarious employment, trans / non-binary researchers, those with a disability, care leavers, refugee or asylum seeking researchers, or those from a military family or a Gypsy/Romany/Traveller background. Our editorial processes remain committed to meaningfully valuing both paid and unpaid labour and to challenging exploitative labour processes.
* for more on decolonising the academy, see these additional pieces (many other resources are also available):
From the NUS: https://www.nusconnect.org.uk/articles/why-is-my-curriculum-white-decolonising-the-academy
From The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/decolonising-universities-isnt-an-easy-process-but-it-has-to-happen-59604
This HEPI report: https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/HEPI_Miseducation_Debate-Paper-23_FINAL.pdf
Dr. Tanya Kant and Dr. Katherine Farrimond
REFRAME Editors
School of Media, Arts and Humanities
University of Sussex
Updated January 2021