Paola Voci

Paola Voci is a Professor at the University of Otago, where she is director of the programme of Global Studies.

Paola is an Italian-born scholar trained in Chinese, film and media studies. She is interested in how creative practices that develop at the margin of dominant cultures can contribute to create a more open society. Her research focuses on independent documentary, animation, and other digital video practices in contemporary China.

In her monograph, China on Video (2012), Paola was the first to study a previously neglected body of smaller-screen movies, circulating on computer screens and mobile phones. She developed the notion of “light culture” to understand how these movies’ unsanctioned creativity circumvents and challenges national and global mass-media.

Her current research examines how digital storytelling can promote a stronger link between academic discourse and civil society.

Paola co-edited Localising Asia in Aotearoa and Screening China’s Soft Power(2017) and has published widely, in English, Chinese, Italian, and French.