I am Professor of Cultural Studies and Deputy Head of the School of Journalism, Media & Culture at Cardiff University. I am author of over a dozen monographs on diverse subjects, including film, media, embodiment, cultural theory, martial arts and orientalism. A proponent of open access publishing, I was the founder and first Editor-in-Chief of both Cardiff University Press and the open access journal Martial Arts Studies. I was instrumental in the development of the interdisciplinary field of martial arts studies between 2014-2024, but my current research interests and projects are starting to move away from martial arts as such and into wider realms of physical culture, and the relationships between media representations and lived physical cultural practices. I teach BA modules on Film, Media and Cultural Theory, as well as East Meets West in Film and Popular Culture. I supervise MA dissertations and PhD research projects on diverse subjects, including film, cultural identity, martial arts, cultural politics and cultural theory. My work has been translated into several languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Czech, Chinese, Arabic and Japanese.
Born and raised in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, I studied at the University of Leeds. I gained a 2.1 degree in English, an MA in Cultural Studies with distinction, and a PhD. My PhD title was ‘Post-Marxist “discourse” and the Theory/Practice Relation in Cultural Studies’. I developed this theme into my first book, Post-Marxism versus Cultural Studies, which was published in 2007 by Edinburgh University Press.
While studying part-time for my MA, I had various jobs - builder’s labourer, bar and nightclub bouncer, ‘temp’ in various warehouses, etc. When studying for my PhD, I worked as a private tutor, a call centre salesperson, a plasterer’s labourer, and then as a visiting lecturer - first at Bretton Hall College, then at Leeds University, and finally at Bath Spa University. Upon completion of my PhD, I gained a full-time lecturer position at Bath Spa University. I soon moved to Roehampton University and then to Cardiff University, where I worked my way up from lecturer to professor.
Current Cardiff University Roles and Responsibilities
Past Cardiff University Roles and Responsibilities
As well as books, I have also published 45 academic journal articles and 33 academic book chapters. Many of these can be accessed for free online.
Professor Paul Bowman - People - Cardiff University
Paul Bowman - Profile on Academia.edu
I have given over 20 keynote and plenary addresses, and 33 further invited presentations. I am always honoured to be invited but I regrettably have to decline more than I am able to accept.
I have given conference keynotes at universities in Aix–Marseille, Austin, Cardiff, Chapman, Cologne, Coventry, Dublin, Henan (online), Geneva, Göttingen, Leicester, London, Muju, Roehampton, and Trier.
I have given invited talks at universities in Bangor, Bari, Braunschweig, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Hong Kong (online), Irvine, Leuven, London, Newcastle, Paris, Seoul, Sheffield, Swansea, Tokyo, Vienna, and Youngsan (online).
I have been instrumental in the establishment of the interdisciplinary research area of martial arts studies. I did this first by publishing the first publication titled ‘Martial Arts Studies’ - a special issue of JOMEC Journal, published in 2014.
Martial Arts Studies | JOMEC Journal
I then organised the first international conference of Martial Arts Studies. This was held at Cardiff University in 2015. I organised this conference annually for a decade. Initially, the conferences were held in Cardiff, but they soon branched out to be held at other universities elsewhere in the UK, as well as California, France, and Switzerland.
Martial Arts Studies - Previous Conferences
I also secured an AHRC research networking grant and established the journal Martial Arts Studies.