{"id":2822,"date":"2026-06-10T12:15:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/digitalhumanities\/?page_id=2822"},"modified":"2026-06-10T14:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T13:12:09","slug":"centre-leadership","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/digitalhumanities\/centre-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Centre Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Digital Humanities is led by five co-directors, who are supported by the DH Officer in delivering the University of Reading’s strategic aims and objectives for DH. Our co-directors offer specific expertise in different DH methodologies and, therefore, provide excellent mentorship to our seed projects that are funded each year.<\/p>\n

The co-directors are responsible for the delivery of events and training that align with their expertise, and managing their personal portfolioes which ensure that DH at Reading remains interdisciplinary and inclusive.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2806″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Dr Mara Oliva<\/h2>\n

Dr Mara Oliva is Associate Professor in Modern US History at the University of Reading and Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Digital Humanities (IDRC-DH). Her research sits at the intersection of history, politics, and digital humanities, with\u00a0particular expertise\u00a0in twentieth-century US political and environmental history, and digital methods for humanities research.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Director of IDRC-DH, she provides strategic leadership for the Centre, overseeing financial planning, and institutional development. She\u00a0is responsible for\u00a0strengthening grant capture, building external partnerships, and developing the Centre\u2019s profile in Digital Humanities. Her portfolio includes leading on public engagement activity, fostering collaborations with\u00a0archives,\u00a0museums and cultural\u00a0institutions, and shaping approaches to research culture across interdisciplinary teams. She is also a member of the University of Reading Research Culture Board.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mara is recognised for pioneering new methodologies for historical scholarship, including\u00a0videographic criticism and other innovative digital approaches to historical interpretation and analysis. Her work explores how digital and interdisciplinary methods can transform historical practice, particularly in relation to archives, narrative form, and public-facing scholarship.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She is a strong advocate for interdisciplinarity and open research, promoting collaborative, transparent, and inclusive approaches to humanities research that engage both academic and non-academic audiences.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She contributes to international discussions on Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence and\u00a0is a peer-review editor at\u00a0<\/span>Digital Humanities Quarterly<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”2867″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”2880″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Dr Alan Guedes<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Dr Rachel Lewis<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”2868″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”2881″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Dr Dominic Lees<\/h2>\n

Dominic Lees is\u00a0<\/span>Associate Professor in Filmmaking at the University of Reading. He leads the Synthetic Media Research Network, a group of creative innovators, AI developers,\u00a0stakeholders\u00a0and academic researchers who explore the potential of Generative AI in film.\u00a0\u00a0He co-edited a special issue on deepfakes of the journal\u00a0<\/span>Convergence<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0and has published articles in\u00a0<\/span>Critical Studies in Television, The Journal of Media Practice, Studies in Documentary Film, Convergence,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>and\u00a0<\/span>Media Practice and Education.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0His 2019 experimental research with deepfakes and film drama was groundbreaking and he speaks on the impact of AI on the creative industries across a wide range of international media.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dominic is co-editor of a new book series for Routledge, \u2018AI in Film and Media\u2019 and is co-author of the book\u00a0<\/span>Generative AI in Film Production<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0He\u00a0is\u00a0lead writer on AI for the British Film Institute\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Sight and Sound\u00a0<\/span><\/i>magazine.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond academia, Dominic\u00a0has worked as a Specialist Advisor on the film industry for the UK Parliament\u2019s Culture,\u00a0Media\u00a0and Sport Committee.\u00a0\u00a0He\u00a0has a background as\u00a0<\/span>an award-winning film and television director.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Professor Lisa Purse<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”2882″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Digital Humanities is led by five co-directors, who are supported by the DH Officer in delivering the University of Reading’s strategic aims and objectives for…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1165,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"coauthors":[151],"class_list":["post-2822","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCentre Leadership - University of Reading Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Digital Humanities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Digital Humanities is led by five co-directors, who are supported by the DH Officer in delivering the University of Reading's strategic aims and objectives for DH. 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