Biography
Dr Tom Rice joined St Andrews in 2010. He is a cultural historian and the author of two books, White Robes, Silver Screens: Movies and the Making of the Ku Klux Klan (Indiana University Press, 2015) and Films for the Colonies: Cinema and the Preservation of the British Empire (University of California Press, 2019).
White Robes, Silver Screens, which examines the role of cinema in the formation, development and demise of the Ku Klux Klan between 1915 and 1944, was runner-up for the BAFTSS Best Book award in 2017 and also received an Honorable Mention at the 2016 INDIEFAB awards. He has spoken on aspects of this work for TV and radio, for print media (including the New York Times) and written articles based on this research for publications including The Guardian and The Conversation.
His second book, Films for the Colonies, explores the establishment and growth of the Colonial Film Units (particularly in Africa and the Caribbean) from the 1920s to the 1960s. In 2016/17 he received a Leverhulme Fellowship to undertake research for this book in Ghana and Jamaica. Prior to joining St Andrews, Rice served as the senior postdoctoral researcher on a major 3 year AHRC funded project, entitled Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire (2007-2010). He wrote historical essays on more than 200 films and production companies, which can be found at www.colonialfilm.org.uk and worked extensively with British film archives.
Rice has spoken on aspects of his research in America, Europe, India and Hong Kong, and has helped organise film seasons, conferences and educational programmes utilising archival film materials. His interest in film history and archival research is also evident in his work as Director of Cinema St Andrews, an archival research project established in 2011. For more information go to http://cinemastandrews.org.uk.
He has served a wide range of administrative roles at St Andrews, including Head of Department and Director of Teaching.
Teaching
Rice has taught (or co-taught) on numerous honours and Mlitt modules, including Film and the Archive; Colonial Cinema; Film and History; Watching the Detectives: Murder, Mystery and the Media; Film Genres, Silent Cinema; and War and Cinema.
PhD supervision
- Anushrut Ramakrishnan Agrwaal
- Sophie Hopmeier
- Patrick Adamson
- Cassice Last
Selected publications
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War in peace: the American Legion and the continuing service of film
Rice, T., Jan 2018, Cinema?s Military Industrial Complex . Wasson, H. & Grieveson, L. (eds.). University of California Press, p. 95-115Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding ? Chapter
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Films for the colonies: cinema and the preservation of the British Empire
Rice, T., 3 Sep 2019, Oakland, CA: University of California Press. 343 p.Research output: Book/Report ? Book
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?Damage unwittingly done?: D.W. Griffith and the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan
Rice, T., 19 Dec 2017, A Companion to D.W. Griffith . Keil, C. (ed.). Wiley-Blackwell, p. 463-485Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding ? Chapter
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White robes, silver screens: movies and the making of the Ku Klux Klan
Rice, T., Jan 2016, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 302 p.Research output: Book/Report ? Book
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"Are you proud to be British?": Mobile film shows, local voices and the demise of the British Empire in Africa
Rice, T., 2016, In : Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 36, 3, p. 331-351Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article
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Chariots of Fire rerun: locating film?s cultural capital on a contemporary stage
Rice, T. & Yumibe, J., Jul 2015, In : Journal of British Cinema and Television. 12, 3, p. 321-341Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article
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Distant Voices of Malaya, Still Colonial Lives
Rice, T., Jul 2013, In : Journal of British Cinema and Television. 10, 3, p. 430-451Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article
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Exhibiting Africa: British Instructional Films and the Empire Series (1925-8)
Rice, T., Oct 2011, Empire and Film. Grieveson, L. & MacCabe, C. (eds.). Palgrave Macmillan, p. 115-133 (Cultural Histories of Cinema).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding ? Chapter
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From the Inside: The Colonial Film Unit and the Beginning of the End
Rice, T., 2011, Film and the End of Empire. Grieveson, L. & MacCabe, C. (eds.). Palgrave Macmillan, p. 135-153 (Cultural Histories of Cinema).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding ? Chapter