Associate Professor Julia Erhart

Associate Professor

College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

place Humanities (230)
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Julia Erhart is an internationally recognised feminist film scholar and expert in the fields of feminist, LGBTQ, and documentary media. She is author of three books, Gendering History on Screen: Women Filmmakers and Historical Films (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury 2018), Gillian Armstrong: popular, sensual & ethical cinema (Edinburgh UP 2020), and The Children’s Hour (McGill-Queens UP forthcoming 2023).

Julia has a track record of data-driven research examining gender equity and the Australian screen industry and an established reputation for research on women’s media authorship and output. Gendering History on Screen (2018) examines innovations by women filmmakers in contemporary biopics, war films, and other genres. Her book about Gillian Armstrong combines analyses of themes in Armstrong’s work with an analysis of her practical filmmaking approach. Further filmmakers Julia has produced research about include Australian director Jane Campion and French director Agnes Varda.

Julia has produced substantial research on LGBTQ audiences and commercial media. Her newest book on The Children’s Hour, the first commercial American film to feature a lesbian character in a mainstream role, is forthcoming in 2023.

Julia is the recipient of a grant from the Australian Academy of the Humanities (2016), a Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning from the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching (2014), and a Fulbright fellowship (2000).

Julia is a nationally recognised teacher. In addition the OLT Citation, she has received the Vice-Chancellor's and the Faculty award for Excellence in Teaching (in 2012). Institutions Julia has taught at include the University of California (Santa Cruz), San Francisco State University, New York University, and Technische Universität Chemnitz. Born and raised in New York City, Julia worked for New Line Cinema, Paperjacks , and as a freelance film editor before becoming an academic. She lives in the Adelaide Hills.

Qualifications

PhD, University of California, Santa Cruz
MA, New York University
BA, Brown University

Honours, awards and grants
  • 2016 Australian Academy of the Humanities grant
  • 2016 Flinders Institute for Research in the Humanities annual research theme, co-leader
  • 2014 Australian Office for Learning and Teaching, Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning
  • 2013 Flinders Teaching and Learning Innovation Grant (co-recipient)
  • 2013 Flinders Embedding Transition Pedagogy Principles Grant
  • 2012 Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2012 Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2012 and 2015 Flinders Medium Grant, Faculty Education, Humanities, Law
  • 2000 Senior Scholars Fellowship, American-German Fulbright Commission
Key responsibilities
Teaching interests

Non-fiction media (documentary, biographical film, historical film); women's media practice; gender and LGBTQ studies in film and television; cultural studies of media; contemporary pedagogies

Topic coordinator
SCME2102 Media, Gender, and Technology
SCME2003 Non-Fiction Form and Ethics
SCME2104 Popular Genres
SCME3000 Cross-Cultural Media
SCME8009 Non-fiction Form and Ethics
SCME3013 Researching and Curating Australian Screen Media
SCME3008 Media at the Margins
SCME1001 Media and Society
Supervisory interests
Documentary
Feminist and queer theories of screen media
First person film
Gender and cinema
Gender equity
Women film directors
Higher degree by research supervision
Current
Principal supervisor: Lesbianism in International Art Cinemas (1), Women directors and Saudi cinema (creative PHD) (1), Scripting disability on screen (creative PHD) (1), Contemporary screen and the female biopic (1), Indonesian animation (1), VFX and workflows (1)
Associate supervisor: Television Horror (1), Cinematography (creative) (1), Contemporary Television Aesthetics (1), Australian Gothic Drama (1), VFX and Motion capture (1), Renaissance theatre and Richard Burbage
Completion
Principal supervisor: Television Studies (1), Printmaking (creative) (1), Women's film comedy in contemporary Hollywood (1), Australian documentary (creative PHD) (1), French Women Directors (creative PHD) (1), Cinema and Religion (1)
Associate supervisor: Spanish Women Directors (1), Gender and Bharata Natyam dance (1), Participatory Documentary (creative) (1), Feminist Experimental Video (creative) (1), Action film (1)
Higher degree by research student achievements
Martin Potter

Vice Chancellor’s Award for Doctoral Thesis Excellence 2015 -

Kath Dooley

School of Humanities and Creative Arts Award for Part-time Teaching 2013 -

Expert for media contact
Comedy
Film
Gender studies
Media
Women
Australian Television Comedy (contemporary)
Film Documentary (20th century)
Film Documentary (contemporary)
LGBTQ Images in Media
Women Film Directors
Available for contact via
Or contact the media team
+61 8 82012092
0427 398 713
Media expertise
  • Comedy
  • Film
  • Gender studies
  • Media
  • Women
Interests
  • Australian Television Comedy (contemporary)
  • Film Documentary (20th century)
  • Film Documentary (contemporary)
  • LGBTQ Images in Media
  • Women Film Directors