Thesis Opportunity: The TEDification of Food Activism

Increasingly TED talks are becoming trusted sources for food politics and policy making, and an important medium for food activists to communicate through. Yet, there are also limits to what can be communicated in a TED talk and how. These limitations affect the types of knowledge and activist performances that are deemed suitable. We would like to understand what TED talks are doing to and for food politics, by conducting a comprehensive analysis of recent TED talks on the theme of FOOD. We are interested in the celebrity, bodily, and visual performances that compose these talks. The effects of these talks on public opinion and policy. And the limitations and possibilities of TED talks as a mode of food activism.



  • You have some training in qualitative methods and critical social theory
  • You are an interested in digital media and food activism
  • You are willing to develop new methodologies and tools for analysing digital media
  • You are registered for one of the following MSc programmes: MID, MCS, MLP, MFT, or MOA

Questions? Please get in touch!

Supervisors: Oona Morrow (RSO) & Prof. Mike Goodman, University of Reading