Barnaby Taylor, Lecturer in Film and Creative Media, Dublin Business School
Barnaby is an experienced creative media scholar constantly developing collaborative teaching environments in which theory and practice combine to create dynamic opportunities for individual storytelling.
He is alive to new possibilities and always looking for ways to reconsider existing paradigms, frameworks and methodologies. He sees challenges as reasons to grow and flourish in collaborative environments. The pandemic has taught him that he will never stop learning.
Barnaby entered higher education as a mature student and spent seven years at the University of Kent. During this time, he completed his doctorate, which was later published by Manchester University Press in 2006. He has lectured at Trinity College Dublin and currently lectures at Dublin Business School.
Barnaby is currently exploring the spaces that exist between moving image theory and practice through voicesonfilm, an audiovisual research platform he co-founded. He has published a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, as well as made several short films and video essays.
In 2021 Barnaby received a Teaching Hero Award from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and the Union of Students in Ireland.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
LinkedIn and Twitter are my favourite platforms, but I also have an affection for Facebook, even despite all its flaws. I am involved in many diverse online communities and am always looking for new digital spaces to explore.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I am currently lecturing in a wide range of areas, including moving image theory, creativity, innovation, content creation and digital storytelling. My teaching is fully informed by my research. And I have recently been working in the area of vertical form storytelling, examining ways in which platforms like TikTok contribute to the discourse about contemporary digital theory and the many ways in which this theory can be better understood through practice.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
As someone who entered higher education as a mature student, I am still in awe of the transformative effect that learning can have on individual lives. Therefore, I count myself as really lucky to have made a career doing something I absolutely adore.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
If you don't know the answer to something, don't pretend you do. My early academic career was fraught with the usual nerves that everyone feels when they first start teaching, and a colleague kindly took me under their wing. Their generosity and patience are something I have never forgotten, and ever since then, it has informed the way I try to work with people.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
My daughter has been my primary motivation to keep working to effect positive change in higher education. She is rapidly approaching the age when she might attend university, and I still think there are so many ways in which her experience, and countless others like her, can be improved.
I am also very close to my father. He supported me all the way through university, and I would not have been able to achieve everything I have achieved so far without him. He has always been a source of real inspiration for me.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
My daughter, obviously. She is the light of my life. Also, I pioneered the study of Film in Ireland by designing the country's first Single Honours Film Studies degree.
Mentoring students is something else I am really proud of; some people I worked with and supported as undergraduates have gone on to have stellar careers. Every time I read about their latest ventures, I feel very proud of them.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
I really enjoy meeting people face to face. I find it far simpler to engage with them. I also tend to prefer less formal environments as it is always much easier to talk to people and hear what they have to say when everyone is relaxed.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
I am extremely curious about other people and love to hear their stories. I am also supportive and sympathetic, happy to help or simply be a sounding board. I always want to see the best in everyone, even though I am also aware enough to know that this isn't always possible. I am thorough and professional, committed and loyal. I am also very driven.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
I am extremely happy to have learned along the way, finding out things for myself and solving problems as they arise. One piece of advice I would probably give my younger self is to have more faith in my own ability. I was shy as a child and awkward as a young adult.
It took me a long time to find my own feet, and there were many doubts along the way. I would also tell my younger self to trust their instincts a little bit more. Things tend to have a way of working themselves out in the end, even if you can't see it at the time.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
As an ardent Liverpool FC fan, I am incredibly impressed with Jürgen Klopp and the many ways in which he has transformed the club. Charismatic and committed, he embodies a certain kind of leadership which is sadly lacking in many other parts of society today.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I have written several books in the last four years, ranging from teenage zombie fiction to more sober reflections on life, love and loss. I also collect rare vinyl and organise regular northern soul events, where you'll find me deejaying as well as dancing.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
Notwithstanding everything negative associated with it, the pandemic has been a really positive experience for me professionally. The pandemic effectively broke higher education and forced everyone involved to begin again from the beginning.
Old approaches were certainly no fit for the new circumstances. Though many people and institutions struggled with this, I saw it as an opportunity to reflect on my professional practice, look at what worked, what didn't work, and, most importantly, what my students needed from me. I am still working through that process now and have learned so much about myself along the way.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I need to mention my PhD supervisor, Dr Catherine Grant. The start of my doctorate was less than straightforward, and eventually, I found myself almost a year down with nothing written. Katie saw what was happening and stepped in to offer her full support. I changed the topic and, with her guidance, was not only able to complete it on time but also secure a publishing contract in the process. If it hadn't been for her belief in my ability, I would never have finished, and my academic career would have been over before it had even properly begun.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Be really sure before you begin. A degree can be the gateway to many wonderful opportunities. Still, you do need to ask yourself whether or not you really need to commit to an extended study period. This is especially true if you are thinking about advanced study. The discipline is not what it used to be, and I know lots of people with fascinating research backgrounds and globally published books which can only find part-time teaching work.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
In life, I have no real idea, but in terms of higher education, I feel that people tend not to complete programmes because the programme itself wasn't right for them. School leavers are under so much pressure when it comes to making decisions about their future, and for many people, this pressure causes them to choose paths that simply aren't suitable for them. This was exactly my experience as an eighteen-year-old, and it took me until I was in my mid-twenties before I found a degree course that worked for me.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
For the last couple of years, my research has been guided by the phrase "Break something and write about the pieces."
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I tend not to look too much to businesses or institutions for inspiration. That said, I have always valued the combination of design and function I find in my Macbooks and iPhones.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
I have always believed in myself, especially when others haven't, so for me, success looks like where I am now. I have daily opportunities to learn more about myself and the world I live in. In addition, I am lucky enough to be able to work with and support people as they embark on their learning journey. These both sound like successful things to me.
In terms of lessons learned, I have been lucky enough to find out first-hand how education changes lives, so I would say to anyone thinking of changing direction that if at all possible, they simply should. It worked for me, and I would hope that it works for other people too.