Josh Cannon

Twitter: joshuacannon
Email: j.j.cannon@lancaster.ac.uk

Thesis Title

YouTube Vlogging and Speculative Pragmatism

Institution

BA(Hons) Film and Theatre Studies, Lancaster University, 2014
MA Distinction, Contemporary Performance Practice, University of Salford, 2018

Supervisors

Professor Andrew Quick
Professor Charlie Gere

Research Summary

This Practice-as-Research PhD explores how the practices of YouTube vlogging elicit new ways of making and thinking about performance from theoretical and practice-based perspectives. YouTube is filled with examples of performance, but vlogs are of specific interest as they are a direct product of the internet and only exist in the digital world. Speculative pragmatism is of key importance to my understanding of current, emergent and potential YouTube vlogging practices.

Biography

Alongside receiving a 3+ AHRC scholarship I am a performance artist and theatre maker based in the North West. I am one third of Popbox Theatre – an emerging theatre company based in the north. We try to talk about the world we live in, the language we speak and the stuff we all do whilst making sure we update our Instagram pages. We’re a bit silly and a bit serious:

“popbox are drawing on some well-worn ideas, but they deliver it with a fresh, millennial edge that draws heavily on pop culture and the digital landscape that makes the world so much smaller” – The Reviews Hub

You can read more about Popbox here

Research Interests

Intermediality,
devised theatre,
postdigital,
performance art,
postdramatic theatre,
digital performance,
Practice-as-Research
and interdisciplinary.