Dr Nicholas Holm staff profile picture

Contact details +6449793544

Dr Nicholas Holm BA(Hons), MA, PhD

Senior Lecturer

Doctoral Supervisor
School of Humanities Media and Creative Comm

Nick joined the School of English and Media Studies in 2013, having completed his doctorate at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada in 2012. He apparently has trouble keeping his research interests in check, but when forced will suggest that he studies the political nature of popular culture, in particlar the role of humour as an aesthetic category, and the interrelation of aesthetic theory, political economics and popular culture. He also likes to write about animals that nobody else likes. His major publications include a monograph on the political function of contemporary humour (Humour as Politics, 2017) and a textbook about the critical study of advertising in 2016. He was the conference director of the 2017 meeting of the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia, the 2018 Feral online-only conference and the 2021 meeting of the Australasian Humour Studies Network

Nick is the co-ordinator for the Wellington internal and distance versions of Adverting and Consumer Society (154.202), the Wellington offering coordinator of Popular Culture and the Media (154.203), Media, Culture, Power (154.301) and the coordinator of The Communication Field (154.721).

Nicholas Holm is a Senior Lecturer in Media Studies based on the Wellington campus, where he teaches courses in popular culture, advertising and communication. His research explores the political role of popular culture and entertainment media, with a particular focus on humour and comedy. He is also more generally interested in exploring how popular culture can affect how we understand the world, and the ways in which we judge and assess the worth of cultural forms. His current research project explores the idea of fun as a political category.

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Professional

Contact details

  • Ph: 04 979 3544
    Location: 7C 43, Block 7
    Campus: Wellington

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Victoria University (2007)
  • Master of Arts - McMaster University (2008)
  • Doctor of Philosophy - McMaster University (2012)

Certifications and Registrations

  • Licence, Supervisor, Massey University

Research Expertise

Research Interests

Cultural and Media Theory, Humour, Popular Culture, Political Aesthetics, Frankfurt School, Marxism and Post-Marxism, Ecocriticism and Political Ecology, Advertising.

Thematics

21st Century Citizenship

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Communication and Media Studies (200100): Consumption and Everyday Life (200203): Cultural Studies (200200): Cultural Theory (200204): Languages, Communication And Culture (200000): Media Studies (200104): Screen and Media Culture (200212)

Keywords

Humour, Satire, Comedy, Advertising, Cultural Theory, Cultural Studies, Urban Wildlife, Marxism and Marxist Theory, Capitalism, Comic Books, Cartoons.

Research Projects

Summary of Research Projects

Position Current Completed
Project Leader 0 6

Research Outputs

Journal

Holm, N., & Tilley, E. (2023). The Aesthetics of Creative Activism: Introduction. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 81(2), 131-140
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N., Tilley, E.
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Holm, N. (2023). The limits of satire, or the reification of cultural politics. Thesis Eleven: critical theory and historical sociology.
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2022). No more jokes: Comic complexity, Adult Swim and a political aesthetic model of humour. European Journal of Cultural Studies. 25(2), 355-372
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2021). Deadpan humour, the comic disposition and the interpretation of ironic ambiguity online. New Media and Society.
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Donian, J., & Holm, N. (2021). Trevor Noah and the contingent politics of racial joking. The European Journal of Humour Research. 9(3), 30-48 Retrieved from https://ww.europeanjournalofhumour.org/ejhr/article/view/525
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2021). No time for fun: the politics of partying during a pandemic. Cultural Studies. 35(2-3), 452-461
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2020). Consider the (Feral) Cat: Ferality, Biopower and the Ethics of Predation. Society and Animals. 30(7), 781-797 Retrieved from https://brill.com/view/journals/soan/30/7/article-p781_6.xml
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2020). Bright Grey: The Political Dialectic of Bureaucratic Boredom. New Formations: a journal of culture/theory/politics. 100-101, 129-145 Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/761225
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2021). Excalibur, aesthetics and an other Britain: from whimsical tradition to tabloid aesthetic. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. 12(5), 912-923
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2020). Critical capital: cultural studies, the critical disposition and critical reading as elite practice. Cultural Studies. 34(1), 143-166
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2019). ‘Fred, it’s a mess’: Fred Dagg and the cultural politics of the laconic. Comedy Studies. 10(1), 39-55
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Duncan, P., & Holm, N. (2018). Cultural Studies, Marxism and the Exile of Aesthetics. Open Cultural Studies. 2(1), 746-757 Retrieved from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/culture-2018-0067/html
[Journal article]Authored by: Duncan, P., Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2018). The Political (Un)Consciousness of Contemporary American Satire. Journal of American Studies. 52(3), 642-651 Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/political-unconsciousness-of-contemporary-american-satire/F2FB4C34CE567F31B71F70A69138318E
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, NH. (2016). Humour as edge-work: Aesthetics, joke-work and tendentiousness in Tosh.0 (or Daniel Tosh and the mystery of the missing joke-work). Comedy Studies. 7(1), 108-121
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, NH., & Veldstra, C. (2015). Introduction: You can't be serious. Comedy Studies. 6(1), 1-3
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, NH. (2015). Consider the possum: Foes, anti-animals, and colonists in paradise. Animal Studies Journal. 4(1), 32-56 Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/asj/vol4/iss1/4/
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2012). Consider the squirrel: Freaks, vermin, and value in the ruin(s) of nature. Cultural Critique: an international journal of cultural studies. 80(1), 56-95 Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cultural_critique/v080/80.holm.html
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2011). The distribution of the nonsensical and the political aesthetics of humour. Transformations. (19), Unpaginated Retrieved from http://www.transformationsjournal.org/journal/issue_19/article_04.shtml
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2011). Reassessing the right to laughter: Humour, dissent and the liberal imagination. AntePodium: online journal of world affairs. 16(1), 1-42 Retrieved from http://www.victoria.ac.nz/atp/articles/pdf/Holm-2011.pdf
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2011). Ex(or)cising the spirit of Japan: Ringu, the ring, and the persistence of Japan. Journal of Popular Film and Television. 39(4), 183-192
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2009). Conspiracy theorizing surveillance: Considering modalities of paranoia and conspiracy in surveillance studies. Surveillance and Society. 7(1), 36-48 Retrieved from http://surveillance-and-society.org/ojs/index.php/journal/article/viewFile/conspiracy/conspiracy
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2007). F--- you, I won’t do what you tell me: A dritical qnalysis of rebellion, revolution and the dionysian in popular music. New Zealand Journal of Media Studies (Online). 10(1), 24-30 Retrieved from http://www.nzmediastudies.org.nz/articles/10_1_004_HOLMa.PDF
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2018). Dustin Bradley Goltz Inger-Lise Kalviknes Bore: Screen Comedies and Online Audiences. Humor: international journal of humor research. 31(2), Retreived from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/humor-2018-0122/html
[Book Review]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, NH. (2013). Evil Media. Media International Australia Incorporating Culture and Policy: quarterly journal of media research and resources. 1(147), 164-165
[Book Review]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, N. (2012). Book review: Introduction to antiphilosophy, by Boris Groys, translation by D. Fernbach (2012). Culture Machine. , 1-6Retreived from http://www.culturemachine.net/index.php/cm/article/view/491/513
[Book Review]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, N. (2012). Book review: Critique on Critique a review of On critique: A sociology of emancipation by Boltanski (2011). Cultural Studies Review. 18(2), 341-346Retreived from http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/csrj/article/view/2774
[Book Review]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, N. (2012). Book review: The people’s media critique reveiw of Swift Viewing: The popular life of subliminal influence by Charles R. Acland (2011). Reviews in Cultural Theory. 3(1), 62-66Retreived from http://www.reviewsinculture.com/?r=86
[Book Review]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH., & Holm, N. (2010). Review of Aesthetics and Its Discontents, by Jacques Rancière. Culture Machine. 11(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, N. (2010). Book review: Aesthetics and its discontents, by Jacques Rancière (2009). Culture Machine. , 1-10Retreived from http://www.culturemachine.net/index.php/cm/article/view/393/411
[Book Review]Authored by: Holm, N.

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Book

Holm, N. (2022). Laughing at the End of the World: Climate Change Comedy and the Limitations of Comic Activism. In E. Tilley (Ed.) Creative Activism Research, Pedagogy and Practice. (pp. 105 - 122). Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
[Chapter]Authored by: Holm, N.Edited by: Tilley, E.
Holm, N.(2017). Humour as Politics The Political Aesthetics of Contemporary Comedy. : Palgrave Macmillan
[Authored Book]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, NH.(2016). Advertising and consumer society: A critical introduction. : Palgrave
[Authored Book]Authored by: Holm, N.
Taffel, SA., & Holm, NHF. (Eds.) (2016). Ecological entanglements in the Anthropocene. Lanham: Lexington Books
[Edited Book]Edited by: Holm, N., Taffel, S.
Nazir, B., Holm, N., & Worthington, KL. (2018). Brand Pakistan: Global imaginings and national concerns in Pakistani anglophone literature. In Routledge Companion to Pakistani Anglophone Writing. (pp. 335 - 347).
[Chapter]Authored by: Holm, N., Worthington, K.
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Holm, N. (2018). 'Against the Assault of Laughter': Differentiating Critical and Resistant Humour. In . MacKenzie, Iain, F. Francis, & KBR. Giappone (Eds.) Comedy and Critical Thought: Laughter as Resistance. (pp. 31 - 44). : Rowman and Littlefield
[Chapter]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2017). The politics of deadpan in Australasian satire. In . Davis, Jessica M. (Ed.) Satire and Politics: The Interplay of Heritage and Practice. (pp. 103 - 124). : Springer
[Chapter]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2016). Consider the lawnmower: Aesthetics, politics and entanglements of urban nature. In NH. Holm, & S. Taffel (Eds.) Ecological Entanglements in the Anthropocene. (pp. 17 - 33).
[Chapter]Authored by: Holm, N.Edited by: Holm, N.
taffel, SA., & holm, NHF. (2016). Ecological crises, nonhumans and the age of man. In NHF. Holm, & SA. Taffel (Eds.) Ecological entanglements in the anthropocene. (pp. ix - xxv). : Lexington Books
[Chapter]Authored by: Holm, N., Taffel, S.Edited by: Holm, N., Taffel, S.
Holm, NH.(2016). The Political (UN)Consciousness of Contemporary American Humour.
[Discussion Paper]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2016). Art for Fun and Profit: The Political Aesthetics of Advertising. In . James F. Hamilton, R. Bodle, & E. Korin (Eds.) Explorations in Critical Studies of Advertising,. (pp. 97 - 109). : Routledge
[Chapter]Authored by: Holm, N.

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Thesis

Holm, N. (2012). Dissent in jest: The political aesthetics of contemporary media humour. (Doctoral Thesis, McMaster University)
[Doctoral Thesis]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Conference

Holm, N., Taffel, S., & Farrelly, T.(2018, November). Feral: a nearly carbon neutral conference. .
[Conference]Authored by: Holm, N., Taffel, S.
Holm, NH. (2017, July). Online Deadpan and the Comic Disposition. Presented at International Soceity for Humour Studies. Université du Québec à Montréal.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Taffel, SA., Holm, N., Duncan, P., Veale, K., Huffer, I., & Randell-Moon, H.(2017, December). Cultures of Capitalism: CSAA 2017. .
[Conference]Authored by: Duncan, P., Holm, N., Huffer, I., Taffel, S., Veale, K.
Holm, NH. (2017, July). “Satire and the (unfulfilled) promise of popular politics.”. Presented at International Society for Humor Studies 2017. Montréal, Canada.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
holm, . (2016, May). “‘Against the Assault of Laughter’: Differentiating Critical and Resistant Humour.”. Presented at Comedy and Critical Thought: Laughter as Resistance?. University of Kent.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.

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Holm, NH."Against the Assault of Laughter": Differentiating Critical and Resistant Humour. . Kent, United Kingdom
[Conference Paper]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2015, November). Marxism as Minor Culture: The Americans and Marxism in the 21st Century. Presented at Minor Culture: Conference of the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia. University of Melbourne.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH.(2015, April). Working with Nature: Understanding Entanglements of Humans and Nonhumans in the Anthropocene. .
[Conference]Authored by: Holm, N.Edited by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2015, February). The Politics of Deadpan in Australasian Satire. Presented at Association for the Study of Australian Literature Mini-Conference 2015. University of New England, NSW, Australia.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2015, February). "Against the Assault of Laughter": Critique and the Politics of Humour. Presented at Australasian Humour Studies Network Conference. Flinders University, Adelaide.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2014, June). “Veep, the thick of it, and the Politics of (transnational) humour”. Presented at Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference 2014. Tampere, Finland.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, NH. (2014, February). Humour as Edge-Work: Joke Work, Tendentiousness and Tosh.0. Presented at 1 Australasian Humour Studies Network 20 th Annual Colloquium on ‘Anything Goes?’. National Library of New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, NH., Ingleton, PB., & Veldstra, CW.(2013, May). You can't be serious: 2013 John Douglas Taylor conference. .
[Conference]Authored by: Holm, N.
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Holm, NH. (2012, May). Unicorn 2.0: Logics of Abstraction in Humour Meme Culture. Presented at Canadian Communications Association. University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2012, July). We Won't Take it Anymore: Revolutionary Subjects in Contemporary Cinema. Presented at Crossroads in Cultural Studies. Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2013, May). A Working Class Hero (was something to be?): Political Identity and Political Affect. Presented at International Association for the Study of Popular Music - Canada 2013 Conference. McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.
Holm, NH. (2013, May). Nature as Popular Culture. Presented at "You Can't Be Serious" 2013 John Douglas Taylor Conference. McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Holm, N.

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Other

Tilley, E., Holm, N., Bacharach, S., Baldini, AL., Bartholomew, S., Burgos, A., . . . Ventzislavov, R. (2023). Special issue: The aesthetics of creative activism. Oxford University Press
[Other]Authored by: Holm, N., Tilley, E.Edited by: Holm, N., Tilley, E.
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Holm, NH. (2017). Rick and Morty, or the cultural logic of late animation.
[Internet publication]Authored by: Holm, N.

Teaching and Supervision

Contact Supervisor

Graduate Supervision Statement

I'm interested in supervising, or just chatting about, any projects addressing the politics of popular culture in general, and more specifically humour (and related concepts of parody, satire, irony and comedy), advertising, meme culture, aesthetic theory, fun, entertainment, popular taste, urban wildlife, comic books, video games, cultural studies more broadly or any combination of the above.


Dr Nicholas Holm is available for Masters and Doctorial supervision.

Summary of Doctoral Supervision

Position Current Completed
Main Supervisor 2 0
Co-supervisor 2 2

Current Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

  • Dan Burgess - Doctor of Philosophy
    Laughing while Māori: Humour, Culture, and Contestation in Aotearoa NZ
  • Nikite Krishnamurthy - Doctor of Philosophy
    A Critical Study of the Covers and Illustrations of Indian Speculative Fiction

Co-supervisor of:

  • Navid Masoudnia - Doctor of Philosophy
    An examination of the Allegorical Portrayal of Technological Domination in James Cameron's Science Fiction Oeuvres through the Lens of Eco-Feminist Criticism
  • Jessica Pawley Copping - Doctor of Philosophy
    Designing for social multimodal e-reading as a secondary education tool

Completed Doctoral Supervision

Co-supervisor of:

  • 2020 - Barirah Nazir - Doctor of Philosophy
    Brand Pakistan: A Reception oriented Study of Pakistani Anglophone Fiction
  • 2020 - Louisa Berry - Doctor of Philosophy
    The World Inverted: Chuck Palahniuk's fiction as a challenge to contemporary capitalism

Media and Links

Media

  • 01 Apr 2014 - Other
    The Wheat from the Chaff
    interviewed for history of Chaff Student Newspaper

Other Links