Dr Rama Venkatasawmy

Biography

Dr Rama Venkatasawmy is a Lecturer in the Discipline of Communication and Media. He currently teaches in the Bachelor of Communication program and supervises Honours candidates at The University of Newcastle, Singapore. He previously taught film and television production courses in the Mass Communication program at Curtin University of Technology’s Malaysian campus where he co-designed the Borneo Studies major and was also the founding Head of the Department of Mass Communication. He has also taught on temporary appointments at Murdoch University and at the University of Mauritius. He has additionally worked as a copywriter in the advertising industry, as well as undertaken media production-related consultancies for various public and private organizations and institutions. He has presented papers at various conferences and in 2010 he was co-Chair of the 10th biennial Borneo Research Council International Conference. His multi-disciplinary research and publications have so far addressed Hollywood cinema, digital visual effects, Australian cinema and Borneo indigenous cultures.

Qualifications

• PhD, Murdoch University, 2010
• Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies)(Honours), Murdoch University, 1997
• Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies), Murdoch University, 1996

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Research

Research keywords

• Australian Cinema
• Film History
• Film Theory
• Hollywood Cinema
• Indigenous Cultures of Borneo
• Media & Communication Theory

Research expertise

Dr Rama Venkatasawmy's early research publications related specifically to Australian cinema and culture, as a result of writing an Honours thesis on Australian cinema as well as teaching an undergraduate Australian cinema course. As a postgraduate, his research shifted to film history and theory, especially in the context of Hollywood cinema, while addressing the digitization of visual effects and of filmmaking. And during some years spent in Borneo, he additionally developed an anthropologically-oriented interest in indigenous cultural heritage and preservation. While maintaining his earlier research interests, Dr Rama Venkatasawmy has more recently been looking into certain aspects of communication and media in the Australian and Asian contexts.

Languages

• African Languages, Nec
• English
• French

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
200100	Communication And Media Studies	50
190200	Film, Television And Digital Media	30
190201	Cinema Studies	20

Memberships

Conference Chair

• Borneo Research Council International Conference (2010)

Invitations

A Cultural Agenda for ASEAN Conference Union Network International (Media, Entertainment & Arts), Malaysia (Invited Presenter)

2006

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

Dr Rama Venkatasawmy established and was the founding head of the Department of Mass Communication at the Malaysian campus of Curtin University of Technology where he taught for many years prior to joining The University of Newcastle. That position required the coordination and management of an undergraduate and a pre-university communication program as well as of staff and other resources involved in the teaching of these programs.

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Communication Studies
• Cultural Studies
• Film & Television Production
• Film Studies
• Media Studies

Teaching expertise

The University of Newcastle is the fourth institution of higher education at which Dr. Rama Venkatasawmy is teaching in a Communication program. Courses that he has taught over the years at various university campuses include:

Communication, Creativity and Cultural Production

Media, Law, Ethics

Introduction to Professional Writing

Documentary Workshop

History of Screen Language

Introduction to Media & Communication Studies

Production – Corporate Documentary

Screenwriting – Corporate Documentary

Screen Production Techniques

Australian Cinema

Television & Popular Culture

Political and Sociological Theories of the Media