Chris Atton Explained

Chris Atton
Birth Name:	Christopher Frank Atton
Birth Date:	10 March 1959
Birth Place:	Rotherham, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Occupation:	Retired university professor
Spouse:	Susan Atton

Dr Christopher Frank Atton (born 10 March 1959) is the retired Professor of Media and Culture in the School of Arts and Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University. His work focuses on Alternative Media where his contribution has concentrated on the notion of alternative media not as an essentialised political position but as a set of socio-cultural processes that redraw the boundaries of expert culture and media power.^[1] His research interests include popular music, the creative economy, infoshops, and teaching and learning in higher education. Atton has also written on censorship and media ethics.^[2]

Education

Atton was awarded his PhD in 1999 with a study of the British alternative press; he also holds an MA (Hons) in Latin Studies from the University of Edinburgh and an MA in Mass Communications from the University of Leicester.^[3]

Academic career

Atton started academic life as a translator of Renaissance Latin texts before training as a librarian in Leeds in 1985. After several years working in public and college libraries, he was appointed Science Librarian at Edinburgh Napier University in 1992. He was made a Fellow of the Library Association (UK) in 1995 and received the American Library Association's Jackie Eubanks Memorial Award 'in recognition of outstanding achievements in promoting alternative media in libraries' in 1998.^[4] Following posts as Lecturer and Reader, Atton was conferred with Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2007 and appointed Professor in the School of Arts and Creative Industries in October 2008. He was appointed to membership of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Peer Review College in 2010.^[5]

Scholarship

Books

• Alternative Journalism (Sage, 2008, with James F. Hamilton)^[6]
• An Alternative Internet (Edinburgh University Press, 2004)^[7]
• Alternative Media (Sage, 2002)^[8]
• Alternative Literature (Gower, 1996)^[9]
• The Kabbalistic Diagrams of Rosenroth (Christian Knorr von Rosenroth) (Hermetic Research Trust, 1987) (co-translator: Stephen Dziklewicz)^[10]

Selected articles

• 'Popular Music Fanzines: Genre, Aesthetics and the "Democratic Conversation"', Popular Music and Society 33(4), 2010: 517–531
• 'Writing about Listening: Alternative Discourses in Rock Journalism', Popular Music 28(1), 2009: 53–67^[11]
• 'Current Issues in Alternative Media Research', Sociology Compass 1(1), 2007: 17–27^[12]
• 'Far-right Media on the Internet: Culture, Discourse and Power', New Media and Society 8(4), 2006: 573–587^[13]
• 'News Cultures and New Social Movements: Radical Journalism and the Mainstream Media', Journalism Studies 3(4), November 2002: 491–505^[14]
• 'Living in the Past?: Value Discourses in Progressive Rock Fanzines', Popular Music 20 (1), January 2001: 29–46^[15]
• 'A Re-assessment of the Alternative Press', Media, Culture and Society 21(1), January 1999: 51–76^[16]
• 'The librarian as ethnographer: notes towards a strategy for the exploitation of cultural collections', Collection Building 17(4), 1998: 154–158^[17]
• 'Anarchy on the Internet: Obstacles and Opportunities for Alternative Electronic Publishing', Anarchist Studies 4(2), October 1996: 115–132^[18]
• 'The Consideratio Brevis of Philip à Gabella', The Hermetic Journal, 1989: 79–97 (translator)^[19]

Edited volumes

• Journalism: Theory, Practice, Criticism: 'New Media and Journalism Practice in Africa', 12(3), August 2011 (co-editor: Hayes Mabweazara)^[20]

'News and the Net: Convergences and Divergences', 3(1), June 2006^[21]

• Media, Culture and Society; 'Alternative Media', 25(5), September 2003 (co-editor: Nick Couldry)^[22]
• Journalism: Theory, Practice, Criticism: 'What is "Alternative Journalism?', 4(3), August 2003^[23]

OtherA full list of book chapters, encyclopaedia entries, peer reviewed articles, keynote addresses, public lectures, conference and other items is held at the Edinburgh Napier University Repository.^[24]

Music

Atton has been a music critic and performer for thirty years, specialising in electronic, improvised and traditional musics.^[25] He has been a member of the live electronics group Certain Ants since its formation.^[26]

External links

• Faculty Listing for Chris Atton at Edinburgh Napier University
• Bad Alchemy
• The Improvisor
• Improjazz
• Rubberneck
• The Sound Projector

Notes and References

1. Web site: Times Higher Education . 22 February 2011.
2. Web site: Social Science Research Council . https://archive.today/20120712024806/http://mediaresearchhub.ssrc.org/chris-atton/person_view . dead . 12 July 2012 . 25 December 2017.
3. Web site: Prof. Chris Atton, Staff, Centre for Literature & Writing, Edinburgh Napier University . 10 February 2011.
4. Web site: Jackie Eubanks Memorial Award . Libr.org . 9 February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230825/http://libr.org/amtf/eubanks.html . 3 March 2016 . dead .
5. Web site: AHRC Peer Review College . 10 February 2011.
6. Book: Alternative Journalism . 9 February 2011. 9780857026811 . Atton . Chris . Hamilton . James F. . 2008-11-20 .
7. Book: An Alternative Internet . 9 February 2011. 9780748617708 . Atton . Chris . 2004 .
8. Book: Alternative Media . 9 February 2011. 9780761967712 . Atton . Chris . 2002 .
9. Book: Alternative Literature . registration . Gower . 9 February 2011. 9780566076657 . Atton . Chris . 1996-01-01 .
10. Web site: Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks Series . The Alchemy Web Bookshop . 9 February 2011.
11. Web site: Writing about Listening . 10 February 2011.
12. Web site: Current issues in Alternative Media Research . 10 February 2011 . 12 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120312124147/http://www.blackwell-compass.com/subject/sociology/article_view?highlight_query=atton&type=std&slop=0&fuzzy=0.5&last_results=query=atton&topics=&content_types=ALL&submit=Search&parent=void&sortby=relevance&offset=0&article_id=soco_articles_bpl005 . dead .
13. Web site: Far-right Media on the Internet . 10 February 2011.
14. Web site: News Cultures and New Social Movements . 10 February 2011.
15. Web site: Living in the Past? . 10 February 2011.
16. Web site: A Re-assessment of the Alternative Press . 10 February 2011.
17. Web site: The librarian as ethnographer . 10 February 2011.
18. Web site: Anarchy on the Internet. 10 February 2011. 24 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024223723/https://www.lwbooks.co.uk/journals/anarchiststudies/archive/vol4no2.html#atton. dead.
19. Web site: The Consideratio Brevis of Philip à Gabella . 9 February 2011 .
20. Web site: New Media and Journalism Practice in Africa . Journalism . 18 October 2011.
21. Web site: News and the Net: Convergences and Divergences . . 9 February 2011.
22. Web site: Table of Contents—September 2003 . Media, Culture & Society . September 2003 . Sage Journals Online . 9 February 2011.
23. Web site: Table of Contents—August 2003 . Journalism . August 2003 . Sage Journals Online . 9 February 2011.
24. Web site: Atton,Chris; Edinburgh Napier University Repository . 10 February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110718172346/http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/view/people/Atton=3AChris=3A=3A.html . 18 July 2011 . dead .
25. Web site: Chris Atton, Staff, School of Arts & Creative Industries, Edinburgh Napier University . 10 February 2011.
26. Web site: Certain Ants . 10 February 2011.