Dr. Joseph Watson is an Associate Professor of Film and Media Arts in the Department of Music, Theatre, and Film at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. His teaching and creative practice engage film and video producing and directing, cinema studies, and interdisciplinary creative research that bridges documentary and fiction filmmaking, live theatre, and media performance.
Dr. Watson is an award-winning scholar and filmmaker, his research has been published in Educational Media International, The Journal of Popular Culture Studies, and Liminalities. He is also the author of the book Screening TED, which is an analysis of the community and pedagogy rhetorics behind TED Talks. He has also been active in professional film, media, and theatrical industries for thirty years as a stage and film actor, director, writer, and designer. He is the co-founder of Old School Pictures, which produces media content in five major city markets.
Working at the intersections of communication, media, and pedagogy, Dr. Watson’s creative research explores the rhetorics of community through both critical and creative methodologies. His work reflects a commitment to understanding how visual storytelling, performance, and media environments shape collective experience and public discourse. Specialized research interests include the history and cultural effects of the horror film as well as film tourism.