About
Research
Email: maria.mellins@stmarys.ac.uk
Tel: 020 8240 4194
Biography
Maria teaches on Film and Screen Media, and Criminology and Sociology degrees. The modules she delivers include Crime in the Media; Bodies, Gender and Sexuality; Screen Cults and Identity, and the Dissertation.
In terms of research, Maria is currently researching and writing about stalking and coercive control. Her chapter ‘Alice Ruggles: Stalking and Public Awareness,’ features in the textbook Critiquing Crime in the Media: Twenty-First Century Cases (Palgrave Macmillan), which is edited by Maria Mellins and Sarah Moore. This research presents the need to raise public awareness of stalking, particularly with young people. Consequently, Maria and the Alice Ruggles Trust (where Maria is a Trustee) are now developing a suite of qualifications that focus on Stalking Awareness in Education Environments (SAAfE Level 2) and Stalking Awareness Ambassadors for Education (SAAfE Level 3).
Maria is also an Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworker (ISAC) trained by Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service. This underpins her undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in the areas of gender-based violence, stalking, homicide prevention, and the representation of these crimes in the media. Her research podcast, Murder and Society covers issues concerning the representation of female homicide victims in the press, victim-blaming, and ‘cautionary tales’ in Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA) cases.
Previously, Maria has written a number of sociological monographs, research papers and articles, including her book, Vampire Culture (Bloomsbury, 2013), which is a non-fiction book that draws on her PhD in the area of subcultures: media, gender and crime.
Maria is supervising PhD students in the areas of crime, media, fairy tales and gender.
Research
Selected publications
- ‘Alice Ruggles: Stalking and Public Awareness,’ in Critiquing Crime in the Media Textbook: Twenty-First Century Cases, (Forthcoming, 2021) Palgrave Macmillan, edited by Maria Mellins and Sarah Moore.
- The Alice Ruggles Trust, TW1&2 Magazine (2020)
- Murder Society Podcast (2019) Series 1 is available on all podcast providers.
- 'Mermaid Spotting: the Rise of Mermaiding in Popular Culture,' in Beasts of the Deep. Sea Creatures and Popular Culture. John Libbey Publishing (2018).
- Maria Mellins and Peter Howell, Introductions to the Monster Collection of Frankenstein,Dracula and Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, Audible, 2017.
- Returning Eden (Crooked Cat, 2016).
- Maria Mellins & Brigid Cherry (ed.) ‘Subverting Fashion’, Special Edition of Clothing Cultures Journal (Intellect 2.2)
- Vampire Culture. (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013)
- ‘The Fangtasia Experience: True Blood Fans, Commodification and Lifestyle’, in Brigid Cherry, True Blood: Investigating Vampires and The Southern Gothic. I.B. Tauris (2012)
- ‘Negotiating the Punk in Steampunk’.Co-authored with Brigid Cherry, The Intellect Journal of Punk and Post Punk (2011)
- ‘Fashioning a Morbid Identity. Female Vampire Fans and Subcultural Style’ in B. Cherry, P. Howell & C. Ruddell (ed) Twenty-First-Century Gothic, Cambridge Scholars (2010)
- ‘Dressing up as Vampires: Virtual vamps – negotiating female identity in cyberspace’, Networking Knowledge, Journal of MeCCSA PGN. 1(2) (2007)
- Interview on BBC World News (Oct 2013)
- Interview on Jo Good Show BBC London Radio (Oct 2013)