I am currently Lecturer of Visual Media and Culture with a particular interest in comics, videogames and the international creative industries. I lead on the delivery of teaching DES401 on Creative and Cultural Industries and teach on the ART101 module which enables students to apply comics design principles to game art.
I completed my undergraduate degree in 2016 at Creighton University with a double major in English and Spanish and a minor in History. I then received a Master's of Literature in Comics and Graphic Novels from the University of Dundee in 2017, followed by a PhD in English in 2021. The title of my PhD thesis is 'The Anthropomorphic Body as Genre: Comics and Fetish'.
In 2021, I accepted a research position on Abertay University's InGame International project as the Research and Development Fellow in Transnational Creative Industries. This project had a special focus on the challenges and opportunities for games being made between China and the UK. In April 2022, I received funding from the SGSAH and SFC Saltire Early Career Researcher Scheme to travel to Stockholm, Sweden and study their creative industries. In January 2023, I transitioned to a lectureship role in Abertay's School of Design and Informatics. I am currently a Co-Investigator in the InGAME International Project which wraps up in January 2024.
Current Teaching
Former Teaching
I have received small grants totalling £10k from a number of funders including the AHRC, SFC, SGSAH, SCCS, and CURAS.
I have created comics for each chapter of my PhD thesis as creative outputs of research. I have also created educational comics for film noir courses and public information comics on Dundee's Archives and Museums as well as partnering with local charities and schools to create comics.
I have written comics scripts for DC Thomson titles such as Commando, Oor Wullie and Wee Harry.
In 2022, I was awarded the People's Choice Award for Public Engagment at the Scottish Funding Council's Team Saltire Awards.
In 2017, I was awarded the Grant Morrison Prize for Comics Studies.
k.macleod@abertay.ac.uk
+44 (0)1382 30 8738