Researching Black Women and/in the Media

Researching Black Women and/in the Media: A conversation between Sandra Eyakware and Francesca Sobande

Join Sandra Eyakware and Francesca Sobande for an afternoon conversation about Black women and/in the media. Drawing on their own research and media experiences, Sandra and Francesca will reflect on the contemporary landscape of TV, film, and digital culture, while also discussing the future of Black media studies in Britain.

Francesca Sobande is a senior lecturer in digital media studies (Cardiff University). She is author of The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain (2020), Consuming Crisis: Commodifying Care and COVID-19 (2022), and Big Brands Are Watching You: Marketing Social Justice and Digital Culture (2024). Francesca is also co-editor with Akwugo Emejulu of To Exist is to Resist: Black Feminism in Europe (2019) and is co-author with layla-roxanne hill of Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland (2022) and Black Oot Here: Dreams O Us (2023).

Sandra Eyakware is the Student Success Tutor in the Brunel Law School. She has over 10 years experience of working with students in the post-compulsory education sector (both FE and HE), supporting their academic and pastoral needs. Sandra is currently a part-time PhD student (second year) at Cardiff University in the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies (JOMEC). Her PhD research explores Black women audiences’, in Britain, views and responses to narratives of Black womanhood in TV series they engage with on subscription TV streaming services in the UK.