Ryan lectures in media studies. His research draws on media studies, critical theory, cultural studies, and science and technology studies.

Teaching on undergraduate courses in Media and Cultural Studies

PhD Thesis"Tablet computers and technological practices within and beyond the laboratory"Using a range of case studies, the thesis analyses the implications of a ‘digital society’ by examining the local, everyday practices which make up the lived experience of staff, students and academics associated with the science lab. I examine the relationship between new media objects and changing lifestyles and working practices. Specifically, I am researching the use of tablet computers by laboratory-based research scientists. Ultimately, the thesis questions the impact of digital technology on both personal liberation and control. The tablet is an ‘emerging object’ – practices and meanings associated with the tablet are still very evidently in flux. In my research, I exploit this uncertainty, treating the tablet computer as the site of a struggle for meanings. With the introduction of tablet technology to labs, certain practices are constructed as normal. Hierarchies of power are established and maintained in ‘normal’ practices. My thesis uses the question “what is a tablet computer?” as a starting-point to open up space for debate and critique of digital culture more generally. Research FundingAHRC Research Preparation Master's Award (University of Nottingham, 2010-11)AHRC Doctoral Award (University of Sussex, 2011-14)AHRC 'CHASE Digital Scholar' (2013)