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Francesca Sobande

Dr Francesca Sobande

(she/her)

Reader in Digital Media Studies

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision
School of Journalism, Media and Culture

Overview

Dr Francesca Sobande is a writer and reader, who researches the power and politics of media and the marketplace. Her work focuses on digital remix culture and music, Black diaspora(s) and archives, Black feminism and pop culture, nostalgia and subcultures, creative work and education, brands and crises, and the internet and cultural memory.

Francesca is the author of Big Brands Are Watching You: Marketing Social Justice and Digital Culture (University of California Press, 2024), Consuming Crisis: Commodifying Care and COVID-19 (SAGE, 2022), and The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). She is co-author with layla-roxanne hill of Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland (Bloomsbury, 2022), and the freely available graphic novel Black Oot Here: Dreams O Us (ESRC/AHRC funded 2023, illustrated by Chris Manson, translated in Scots by Lesley Benzie, and translated in Scottish Gaelic by Naomi Gessesse). An accompanying Dreams O Us animation, co-created with Leeds Animation Workshop, features music by Nathan Somevi. Forthcoming work by layla-roxanne and Francesca includes the book Look, Don’t Touch: Reflections On The Freedom to Feel (404 Ink, 2025) which reflects on society's nurturing and obstructing of emotional expression, physical touch, and connectedness between different species and spaces.

Francesca is also co-editor with Akwugo Emejulu of To Exist is to Resist: Black Feminism in Europe (Pluto Press, 2019), and co-author with Anamik Saha and Gavan Titley of The Anti-Racist Media Manifesto (Polity, 2024). Her research has been published in a wide range of international journals, such as European Journal of Cultural Studies, The Sociological Review, Celebrity Studies, Television & New Media, Cultural Studies, IPPR Progressive Review, European Journal of Women's Studies, Meridians, Communication, Culture & Critique, and Media, Culture & Society.

In 2020, Francesca developed a new undergraduate module, "(Me)me, Myself, and I: The Power and Politics of Digital Remix Culture and Online Inequalities". Between 2019–2023, she was Communication Co-Chair (with Naya Jones) of the international Race in the Marketplace Research Network.

Francesca has commented on her research topics for Al Jazeera, BBC News, ABC News, CNN, i-D, New Scientist, New Statesman, ITV, The Guardian, Quartz, The Washington Post, and Times Radio, as well as at public engagement events at the Wellcome Collection, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), and Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT).

PhD proposals in the following areas are welcome:

  • Black digital culture and archives
  • Black feminism and popular culture
  • Devolution and digital media
  • Film, identity, and nostalgia
  • Meme culture, subcultures, and politics
  • Music and the internet

Publication

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

Articles

Book sections

Books

Monographs

Websites

Research

  • Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland: What does it mean to be Black in Scotland today? What is it like to dream of Black Scottish history? Based on intergenerational interviews, survey responses, photography, and archived material, Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland (Bloomsbury, 2022), co-authored with layla-roxanne hill, offers a unique snapshot of Black Scottish history and the here and now. Black Oot Here co-creations also include the freely available graphic novel, Black Oot Here: Dreams O Us (ESRC/AHRC funded, 2023), illustrated by Chris Manson and translated in Scots (by Lesley Benzie) and Scottish Gaelic (by Naomi Gessesse). An accompanying animation was co-created with Oran Rose O’Sullivan / Leeds Animation Workshop and features music by Nathan Somevi. The project website is: blackinscotland.com.
  • Consuming Crisis: Commodifying Care and COVID-19: Consuming Crisis (SAGE, 2022) accounts for how consumer culture capitalised on Coronavirus, and how brands claim to care while telling us to “keep calm and consume”. This analysis of the power and politics of marketing examines an eclectic mix of campaigns, content, and experiences. It outlines the societal significance of fast-fashion adverts, banana bread's pandemic 'moment', university social media strategies, and how digital technology mediates memories and work. Based on the belief that brands cannot be activists, this book considers how they construct care, camaraderie, culture, and so-called ‘normal’ life.
  • "Woke-washing" and alleged "Brand Activism": Francesca critically analyses the relationship between branding, marketing, social justice, and digital culture. Her work on “woke-washing” (European Journal of Marketing, 2019) was picked up by Yahoo! News, The Independent, Quartz, and MSN. Big Brands Are Watching You​ expands on such work to examine corporate culture and morality in the marketplace, from the branding of companies and nations to TV portrayals of big business and the workplace (Industry, Partner Track, Severance, Succession, The Bold Type, You).
  • The Meanings and Messages of Vlogs about University Life: Cardiff University’s Research Opportunities Placement (CUROP) scheme involved Jeevan Kaur and Francesca Sobande researching how and why universities and their students make use of vlogging. This was a critical digital discourse analysis of “university life” YouTube vlogs, including vlogs created by influencers independently of universities, and vlogs created for/in partnership with universities. The analysis aids understanding of considerations, opportunities, and challenges involved in students' and universities' use of vlogs.
  • How Cultural Workers Address Racism in the Digital Age: Francesca was principal investigator on this project with Dr Anamik Saha (Goldsmiths, University of London), Professor David Hesmondhalgh (University of Leeds), and research assistant Jason Roberts (Cardiff University), supported by the Digit Innovation Fund (funded by ESRC). The work was based on 30 interviews with workers in the creative and cultural industries. The research focused on how people address racism and pursue paid work in sectors that shape public culture. Findings feature in the article “Black, Brown and Asian cultural workers, creativity and activism: The ambivalence of digital self-branding practices” in The Sociological Review.
  • Transdisciplinary Photovoice Project on Race and Markets: In collaboration with Dr Guillaume Johnson (Paris Dauphine University) and as part of her involvement in the Race in the Marketplace (RIM) Research Network, Francesca was co-principal investigator on an Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF) funded project. It was based on a two-day "photovoice workshop" prior to the RIM Forum (2019), which focused on photographic and creative documentation of racism and the racial history of Paris. Outputs include the ISRF Bulletin Issue XXIII: Race and Markets and the article “Enacting anti-racist visualities through photo-dialogues on race in Paris”.
  • The Digital and Media Experiences of Black Women in Britain: For over eight years Francesca has been researching the digital and media experiences of Black women in Britain, continuing from her PhD thesis Digital Diaspora and (Re)mediating Black Women in Britain (2018), and culminating in her book – The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain (2020, Palgrave Macmillan), and several related journal articles. Chapter 2: Black Women and the Media in Britain is open access and was among the Springer Nature 2020 Highlights as it was one of the most popular book chapters published by them that year.

Teaching

Francesca is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

She leads the following modules (2024/25):

  • Undergraduate - (Me)me, Myself, and I: The Power and Politics of Digital Remix Culture and Online Inequalities
  • Undergraduate - Representations

Previously led (2019/20):

  • Postgraduate - Critical Issues in Creative Labour

Previously co-led with Dr Arne Hintz (2019/20):

  • Postgraduate - Understanding Digital Media

Contributes to a range of other modules as a guest lecturer, including the following in 2020/21:

  • Undergraduate - Branding and Identity
  • Undergraduate - Employability: Knowledge, Skills & Experience
  • Undergraduate - Media and Gender
  • Postgraduate - Datafied Society
  • Postgraduate - Putting Research into Practice 2

Biography

Prior to joining Cardiff University in 2019, Francesca taught critical marketing and advertising modules such as Marketing: A Critical Introduction (MA), E-Commerce and M-Commerce (UG), and Global Marketing Management (UG) at Edge Hill University. While completing her PhD at the University of Dundee (2015-2018), Francesca was a tutor on modules such as Management Concepts in Context (UG), International Business Environments (UG), and The Business of Human Rights (UG).

During her doctoral research on "Digital Diaspora and (Re)mediating Black Women in Britain", Francesca received two conference paper awards and a scholarship to participate in the inaugural Race in the Marketplace Forum (American University). As a Foundation Scotland Fran Trust grant recipient in 2017, Francesca presented international research on “Black Diasporic Identity (Re)Mediation”. 

Before working as a university lecturer Francesca worked in a range of communications roles in higher education, the arts, and non-profit sector. Francesca's experience of digital pedagogy includes co-leading a course with Daniel Lynds (Davidson College) on "Critical Visual Dialogues" at the Digital Pedagogy Lab in 2020, learning about different digital pedagogical approaches when attending the Digital Pedagogy Lab as a Fellow in 2019, and developing the Cardiff University undergraduate module "(Me)me, Myself, and I: The Power and Politics of Digital Remix Culture and Online Inequalities".

News articles:

Interviews with Francesca are quoted in the following articles:
Francesca's research is also highlighted in these articles, video segments, and radio and podcast recordings:
Francesca's editorial, blog, and online journal writing includes the following:

Supervisions

Francesca Sobande co-supervised Emma-Lee Amponsah's (Ghent University) doctoral project, "BLACK CONNECTIVITY: A
Qualitative Exploration of Black Cultural Media Practices and Collective Identities in Belgium". She has been involved in the supervision team for a range of past doctoral projects, including the work of Ina Sander (Cardiff University) on "Critical Big Data Literacy".

Previously, Francesca was co-supervisor of Khensani de Klerk's (University of Cambridge) Mphil in Architecture and Urban Design project, "public aGender: Investigating the relationship between public infrastructure and urban violence experienced by women of colour in Cape Town, South Africa". 

Currently, Francesca is co-supervisor of Folashadé Ajayi's (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) doctoral project on Black activism in Europe. Francesca is also part of Collincia Rouse's (The University of British Columbia) doctoral project thesis committee.

Current supervision

Sandra Eyakware

Sandra Eyakware

Clara Souza

Clara Souza

Research Student/Graduate Tutor

Olivia Thorne

Olivia Thorne

Contact Details

Email SobandeF@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone +44 29225 11352
Ideas of ‘wellness’ being pushed by corporations could be having a detrimental impact on emotional health, authors argue

Ideas of ‘wellness’ being pushed by corporations could be having a detrimental impact on emotional health, authors argue

15 April 2025

Academic examines morality in the marketplace and how brands respond to social injustice

Academic examines morality in the marketplace and how brands respond to social injustice

10 January 2024

Greater acknowledgement needed of Black Scottish history, say authors

Greater acknowledgement needed of Black Scottish history, say authors

19 October 2022

External profiles