Olivia Thorne

(she/her)

BA (Bath Spa), MA (Bath Spa), FHEA

Teaching

Olivia has taught on the following modules:

• MC1114: Representations (Spring 2026, Seminar Leader, Module Leader: Dr Francesca Sobande)
• MC1114: Representations (Spring 2026, Guest Lecture, Module Leader: Dr Francesca Sobande)
• MC1119: Advertising and the Consumer Society (Autumn 2025, Seminar Leader, Module Leader: Dr John Jewell).
• MC1114: Representations (Spring 2025, Seminar Leader, Module Leader: Dr Francesca Sobande)
• MC1119: Advertising and the Consumer Society (Autumn 2024, Seminar Leader, Module Leader: Dr John Jewell).

Biography

In 2017, Olivia began studying Media Communications at Bath Spa University (BA Hons. 2017-2020, Upper Second Class Honours). During her bachelor's degree, she was particularly interested in feminist representations in media, and particularly video gaming. At this point in time, she was interested in using her love for video gaming to pursue a career in marketing for a video gaming company. 

In 2020, after graduating, she was inspired to remain in education to further her knowledge in Marketing and Brand Management (MA 2020-2021, Pass with Distinction). While completing her master's thesis titled "An investigation into the representation of gender, ethnic minorities and the LGBT+ community on video game marketing", the results from this study highlighted that there is a stigma surrounding the definition of gamer, and most interviewees mentioned that they noticed the prevalence of geek masculinity within gaming. This thesis inspired her doctoral research. In 2026, Olivia was awarded the Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), recognising her skill and experience with pedagogy.

Currently, Olivia is in her fourth year of her PhD.

Honours and awards

BA (Hons.), MA, FHEA

Professional memberships

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Speaking engagements

• "The Cycle of Exclusion for Women in Video Gaming", JOMEC PGR conference, Cardiff University, 10th May 2023.
• "Ms. Male", 1000 Words, JOMEC, Cardiff University, 10th May 2023.
• "The Cycle of Exclusion in Video Gaming", ECREA Digital Games Research, King Juan Carlos University and Complutense University of Madrid, 9th - 10th November 2023.
• "Women in Gaming", JOMEC PGR conference, Cardiff University, 13th May 2025.
• "The Milennial, the Gen Z and the Nintendo Wii: Gaming as Opportunity for Bonding for Women and Girls", Digital Humanities Conference, King's College London, 23rd - 26th June 2026.
• "Cosy Gaming: Comfort, Identity and Constraint", BDiGRA (British Digital Games Research Association), University of South Wales, 30th June - 1st July 2026.