Dr Mary Ainslie

Expertise Summary

Dr. Ainslie’s expertise spans media, culture and the wider social issues of the Southeast and East Asian regions. She is a leading expert on Korean culture in Southeast Asia, Cinema in Southeast Asia, and Judaism across East and Southeast Asia. Her expertise is regularly sought by international journalists and she has appeared as a commentator on television, radio and in print magazines.

Research Interest

Reflected in her diverse publications and funded projects, Dr. Ainslie’s research interests mostly collate around transnational pan-Asian media depictions, Southeast Asian current social issues and the analysis of changing media-consumption in this region. She is also part of continuing projects exploring issues around Judaism and anti-Semitism in Asia, and, in a highly original move, was the first scholar to begin researching this phenomenon on an empirical level in Malaysia.

Dr. Mary J. Ainslie is an Associate Professor specializing in communications throughout Southeast Asia, with specific emphasis upon Thailand and Malaysia, as well as the wider intercultural links between the East and Southeast Asia regions. Previously Head of Film and Television studies at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in Kuala Lumpur, she moved to the Nottingham Ningbo campus in 2017 to further film and media studies, introducing several courses and developing creative arts. She is now Deputy Head of the School of International Communications, and a recipient of the prestigious Nottingham Vice-Chancellor’s Award for her learning activities.

Dr. Ainslie has received funding for a range of projects from various international organizations, including the Academy of Korean Studies, the Korea Foundation and the Vidal Sassoon Centre for the Study of Antisemitism (for studies in which she was project leader). She organized the first symposium to study the consumption and reception of Korean pop culture in Southeast Asia and regularly presents her work in Europe, Israel, Korea and across Southeast Asia. She has published in journals such as China Quarterly, Korea Journal, The Women’s Studies International Journal and The Asia Pacific Journal, as well as in numerous edited collections.

To date she is editor of the volume ‘The Korean Wave in Southeast Asia: Consumption and Cultural Production’ (2015), ‘Thai Cinema: The Complete Guide’ (2018), 'Southeast Asia on Screen: From Independence to Financial Crisis (1945-1997)' (2020) has edited a special edition of the ‘Horror Studies Journal’ (2015), and is currently co-editing ‘The Southeast Asian Gothic collection’. Her monograph 'Anti-Semitism in Contemporary Malaysia: Malay nationalism, philosemitism and pro-Israel expressions' was published in 2019, while her forthcoming monograph is under contract with Edinburgh University Press.

Dr Ainslie has appeared as a guest speaker on television, radio and at film festivals across Asia as well as quoted in popular media such as The Financial Times and Forbes magazine. She is regularly invited to join international scholarly networks, give guest lectures, keynotes and to examine PhD theses internationally. In 2020 she was made an external affiliate at the Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, a position awarded due to the significance of her publications addressing anti-Semitism and philosemitism in Asia. 

01/2017 – present. University of Nottingham (Ningbo Campus)

Course Taught:

Undergraduate:

• Understanding the Creative and Cultural Industries
• ‘Chinese Cinemas’ (co-convenor)
• ‘Communication and Culture’
• ‘Reading Film and Television’ (convenor)
• ‘Cultural Analysis’ (convenor)
• ‘Researching Communications’

Postgraduate：

• ‘Media and Communication Theory’

08/2011 – 12/2016. University of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus)

Course Taught:

Undergraduate:

• ‘Culture Film and Media Skills’
• ‘Introduction to Cultural Studies’
• ‘Approaches to Film and TV’
• ‘Film History’
• ‘Cultures of Everyday Life’
• ‘Southeast Asian Cinema’

Postgraduate：

• ‘Postcolonialisms’
• ‘Research Methods in Cultural Studies