Marco Pellitteri is a cultural- and media sociologist, specialised in visual communication and visual media, the creative industries, pop-cultural entertainment, and audiovisual storytelling. He received a doctorate in Sociology and Social Research from the University of Trento (Italy). Before joining XJTLU in July 2020, he was a Lecturer in the School of Journalism and Communication, MBA programme, and Honors College of Shanghai International Studies University and at Istituto Marangoni Shanghai (2018-20); an Adjunct Fellow in the Department of Asian and North-African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2016-19); a Research Associate in the School of Modern Languages and Culture, Programme of Global Creative Industries, at the University of Hong Kong (2017-18); and a Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology, Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University (2013-18). He received research fellowships and grants from the Japan Foundation (2013-14) and the JSPS (2014-16), and research grants from the Toshiba International Foundation (2017, 2018) and the Hoso Bunka Foundation (NHK) (2017, 2018, 2019). His research spans several sectors in the macro-areas of the visual media and the creative industries: history of television and policies of broadcasting; histories, theories, and production processes of animation and comics; cultural and linguistic aspects of video games; the dynamics of soft power and popular culture in East Asia and Europe; the processes of international distribution of media content; and the dynamics of cultural adaptation and domestication of popular franchises and IPs in foreign contexts.He is the author of several monographs, among which “The Dragon and the Dazzle: Models, Strategies, and Identities of Japanese Imagination — A European Perspective” (Tunué with the Japan Foundation, 2010, 750 pages, It. ed. 2008) and “Mazinga Nostalgia: Storia, valori e linguaggi della Goldrake-generation” (in Italian: 1999, 2002, 2008; 4th revised edition Tunué, 2018, 2 vols, 1580 pages), and “I manga: Introduzione al fumetto giapponese” (in Italian: Carocci, 2021); and the editor of “Japanese Animation in Asia: Transnational Industry, Audiences, and Success” (with Wong Heung-Wah, Routledge 2021), “The Palgrave Handbook of Music and Sound in Japanese animation” (Palgrave Macmillan 2023, in preparation), and “The Palgrave Handbook of Anime and Manga in Europe” (with Manuel Hernández-Pérez, Palgrave Macmillan 2024, in preparation).He has published in academic journals such as Asian Journal of Communication, Kritika Kultura, Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies, ARTS, Annali dell’educazione e delle istituzioni scolastiche, The Japanese Journal of Animation Studies, Yuriika, Global Manga Studies, Mechademia, International Journal of Comic Art, Belphégor, Cabiria, Théorème, Mutual Images, H-ermes, and others.Besides the academic career, he has conducted a 20-year long professional career in advertising and graphic design (1996-2016).

Communication Theories, History, and Skills | Mass Media Studies | Sociology of Communication | History and Theories of Visual Media | Research Methodology | Global Creative Industries | Cultural Critique | Aesthetics of Visual Arts, Languages, and Forms | Japanese Popular Culture | Soft Power Studies | Subculture Studies | Advertising and Design | Intercultural and Transcultural Communication | Academic Writing | History, Theories, and Languages of Comics and Animation | Theories and Processes of Popular Cultures and Entertainment

28 December 2022—28 February 2023: Collaborative Visiting Researcher at Ritsumeikan University of Kyoto, School of International Relations

3 June—29 July 2022: Visiting Scholar at Ca’ Foscari university of Venice, Department of Asian and North African Studies

September 2018—July 2020: Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai (China) School of Journalism and Communication, MBA programme, and Honors College. Lecturer (triple focus on research, teaching, and international network development)

2 November, 2016—1st November, 2019: Ca’ Foscari University (Venice, Italy) Honorary Research Fellow. Department of Asian and North African Studies

21 August, 2017—21 August, 2018: The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) Honorary Research Associate. School of Modern Languages and Culture. Global Creative Industries

7 March, 2013—21 December, 2018: Kobe University. Japan Foundation Research Fellow (07/03/2013 – 06/03/2014) JSPS Foreign Research Fellow (27/09/2014 – 26/09/2016) Foreign Honorary Fellow (27/09/2016 – 21/12/2018) Graduate School of Humanities, Department of Sociology

October 2010—October 2013: London Metropolitan University. Honorary Research Fellow, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

January 2006—September 2016: “Manga Network” research group Centre d’études et recherches internationales (“Sciences-Po”, Paris)

2002—2004: Teaching Fellow. Faculty of Education sciences, “Roma Tre” University, Rome (Italy)

22-26 June 2021 | Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (Suzhou, China) Design, organisation, and chairing of the 2nd MIRA International Summer School, organised with Mutual Images Research Association and the Department of Media and Communication at XJTLU (Xjtlu.edu.cn/en/study/short-summer-courses-and-languages/creative-industries-and-media-cultures).

16-19 July 2019 | University of Messina (Italy) • Design, organisation and chairing of the Mutual Images International Summer Lectures Workshop: Mediated and cultural representations in East Asia, Italy and Europe. Mutualimages.org/summerschool2019.

2019 | Italy • 1st “Mutual Images” International Summer School (Messina, Italy) • Cycle of four lessons on cultural relations among China, Italy, and Japan as part of the Summer School’s program. University of Messina (Messina, Italy), 16-19 July.

2013-2015 | Japan • Several lectures to Japanese and international undergraduate and graduate students on cultural globalisation of Japanese popular culture: economic, industrial, commercial, cultural, political dimensions. Kōbe University, Graduate School of Humanities, Department of Sociology, May-June.

2011 | Japan • Training seminar for Ph.D. students on quantitative research methods and techniques for a comparative international survey on Asian manga readers and anime watchers. Kōbe University, Graduate School of Humanities, Department of Sociology, 14-18 March.

2010 | Belgium • Sint-Lukas Hogeschool (Sint-Lukas University College of Art and Design), Brussels (Belgium), invited by Prof. Pascal Lefèvre. Titles of the seminars: “Theoretical frameworks, production philosophies. History, languages, and genres of anime”, “Anime in Japan and abroad. Japanese identity/ies, Western and European reception/s”, “Anime and ‘J-Culture’ go global. Internationality and transnationality of anime and Japanese pop culture”. 24-25-26 March.

2009 | Switzerland • 10th Film Summer School of the University of Lugano, organized at the Locarno Film Festival: Animated Metamorphoses: The Changing Culture in Contemporary Animation. Presentation and programme at Fss.unisi.ch/pages_eng/presentation.htm and Fss.unisi.ch/pages_eng/program.htm. Title of the seminars: “Anime in the Media-system: From Japanese Specificity to Global Phenomenon”, and “Production Philosophies, Re/presentation Strategies, National Identity/ies”. 6-7 August.

XI’AN JIAOTONG – LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY | COM155: Media rhetorics and analysis (BA Programme; weeks 8-9-10, on rhetorics and analysis of visual media)

XI’AN JIAOTONG – LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY | COM406: Research Methods in Communication (MSc Programme; weeks 5-6-7-8, on quantitative research)

XI’AN JIAOTONG – LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY | COM415: Visual Communication (MSc Programme)

XI’AN JIAOTONG – LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY | COM410: Dissertation (MSc Programme)

XI’AN JIAOTONG – LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY | COM334: Cultural and Creative Industries in a Digital Economy (BA programme)

XI’AN JIAOTONG – LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY | COM402: Advertising and Public Relations (MSc programme)

XI’AN JIAOTONG – LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY | COM305: Final Year Project: Communication Studies, BA programme; shared course; 4 lectures on Research Design, Qualitative and Mixed Methodology, Focus Group and Interview 1 2 (theory and practice)

XI’AN JIAOTONG – LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY | COM401: Global Media Cultures, BA programme (shared course: 1 lecture on History and Languages of Comics and Animation)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Research Thinking and Methodology for the Social Sciences and the Humanities (BA: Foundations)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Theory and Creative Practice of Graphic Design and Advertising (BA)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Visual Design and Advertising for Corporate Communication (MA)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Visual Media Cultures (BA, MA)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Theories and Techniques of Visual Communication (BA: Foundations)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Global Creative Industries and Pop-Cultural Entertainment (BA, MA)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Advertising Management (BA, MA)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Graphic Design and Animation (BA)

[OTHER UNIV.] | World Culture and Business (MBA)

[OTHER UNIV.] | Fashion Advertising (PG)

[OTHER UNIV.] | History of Cinema and Visual Media (MA)

[OTHER UNIV.] | History, Sociology, and Languages of Mass Media (MA)

INVITED LECTURE. 2021 | “Notes on Stereotypes and Representations in International Advertising”. East China Normal University / CIEE, 4 December, Shanghai (via Zoom).

INVITED LECTURE. 2021 | “A quick history and sociology of manga in Japan and Europe”. MA in Édition, Théorie et Critique de la BandeDessinée, Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, Bordeaux, France (via Zoom).

INVITED LECTURE. 2021 | “Knowledge brokerage in the pop creative industries from Japan to Europe”. Center for International Programs, Donghua University, Shanghai, 4 June 2021 (via Zoom).

INVITED LECTURE. 2020 | “Italian ‘hero’ by necessity: Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s anti-pandemic lockdown, and institutional communication”. School of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Seminar Series, Department of Media and Communication, Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University, 26 October 2020.

INVITED LECTURE. 2019 | China. “Atomic energy in Japan and the Media”, joint lecture with Yoshihiko Shiratori (Kobe University), 22 November. Shanghai International Studies University, School of Journalism and Communication.

INVITED LECTURE. 2019 | China. “Non-standard medicine in Italian mainstream media and public opinion today”, Intercultural training project for TCM professionals, 2 November. Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai.

INVITED LECTURE. 2019 | Japan. Cycle of four lectures in the Educational Program on Current Japan (KU-EPOCJ). Topics: Japanese pop cultures in Europe, Japanese comics and animation’s aesthetics in Europe, soft power of Japan in China and Europe, media representations on Japan in Europe. 26-27 October, Kobe University.

INVITED LECTURE. 2019 | China. “A few notes on visual media culture and communication in local and global contexts”, special lecture in the “Media Production” program. Communication University of China, Beijing, 12 October.

INVITED LECTURE. 2019 | China. “Japanese animation in Italy: International brokering, cultural penetration, and nostalgia”. “Wŏ tīng bu dŏng”: How to deliver the right message to the right audience: crossing borders and understanding culture, Istituto Marangoni Shanghai with AAAIIC and the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai. 18 May.

INVITED LECTURE. 2019 | China. “The Italian Way of Style”. Shanghai International Studies University, 11 April.

INVITED LECTURE. 2019 | Italy. “Culture popolari giapponesi: fra media-mix e globalizzazione” (‘Japanese popular cultures: between media-mix and globalisation’). Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), 14 February. With Toshio Miyake.

INVITED LECTURE. 2018 | China. “Non-standard medicine in Italian mainstream media and public opinion today”, Intercultural training project for TCM professionals, 18 November. Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai.

INVITED LECTURE. 2018 | Italy. Presentation of Marco Pellitteri’s book Mazinga Nostalgia (2018, 4th revised edition). Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), 18 February. With Toshio Miyake.

INVITED LECTURE. 2017 | Italy. “L’industria delle emozioni: l’animazione giapponese e il contesto italiano” (‘The industry of emotions: Japanese animation and the Italian context’). Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), 26 May.

INVITED LECTURE. 2016 | France. “Vicissitudes et normalisation du manga et de l’anime en Europe : un regard interdisciplinaire” (‘History and normalisation of manga and anime in Europe: an interdisciplinary outlook’). INALCO (National Institute of Eastern languages and civilisations, Sorbonne University), Paris, 7 November.

INVITED LECTURE. 2016 | Italy. “Dirty, Ugly, and Bad: Japanese animation and its Italian success. The curious entrepreneurial case of UFO Robo Grendizer”. University of Bologna, Faculty of Economy, Department of Management, 3 November.

INVITED LECTURE. 2016 | Japan. “The special relationship between Italy, Europe, and Japanese animation and manga”. Two invited lectures presented at Okazaki Women’s University, 14 July.

INVITED LECTURE. 2016 | Japan. “Mangaization of youth imagery in Europe”. Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies, 22 April.

INVITED LECTURE. 2016 | Japan. “Japanese Anime as art and industry”. Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies, 22 April.

INVITED LECTURE. 2016 | Japan. “Points for a discussion on the manga/anime-related J-culture in Europe”. Invited lecture presented at Nagasaki University, 21 April.

INVITED LECTURE. 2016 | Japan. “Points for a discussion on the manga/anime-related J-culture in Europe”. Invited lecture presented at Chikushi Jogakuen University, Dazaifu (Fukuoka), 19 April.

INVITED LECTURE. 2016 | Japan. “Diminishing the Other without even realising: Japan in the Italian mainstream press”. Presented at the workshop Framing Japanese and Italian Culture as Mutual Otherness. Kōbe University, Graduate School of Humanities, 15 February.

INVITED LECTURE. 2015 | Japan. “What’s so comic about video games? Aesthetic and linguistic loans from comics to computer games”. Invited lecture for a symposium at the Graduate School of Manga Studies and the International Research Center of Kyoto Seika University. Kyoto International Manga Museum, 13 December.

INVITED LECTURE. 2015 | Singapore. “Japanese animation as art and industry: A dialogue”. National University of Singapore, Department of Japanese Studies. 23 June.

INVITED LECTURE. 2015 | Philippines. “Notions of Kawaii in France and Italy: An Aestethical and sociological outlook on a partial ‘mangaization’ and ‘kawaiization’ of youths’ imagination”. Ateneo de Manila University, Departments of European Studies and Japanese Studies. 16 March.

INVITED LECTURE. 2015 | Philippines. “Japanese pop culture: A general outlook”. Ateneo de Manila University, Departments of European Studies and Japanese Studies; Manila (Philippines). 9 March.

INVITED LECTURE. 2015 | Japan. “Points for a discussion on the manga/anime-related J-culture in Europe”. Lesson taught to the students of Fujishima High School, Fukui (Japan), 21 February.

INVITED LECTURE. 2014 | Germany. “Comics and Video Games: An Introductory Lecture”. GameLab, Fachhochschule Köln, Cologne. 12 May.

INVITED LECTURE. 2014 | Japan. “The success of Japanese pop culture in Italy through manga and anime”. Okazaki Women’s University; invited by Prof. Saya S. Shiraishi. 6 February.

INVITED LECTURE. 2011 | Israel. “Manga in Europe: Models, strategies and identities—A discussion on the manga/anime-related J-Pop in Europe”. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Japanese Studies. 18 May.

INVITED LECTURE. 2011 | Italy. “L’immaginario giapponese nella cultura europea” (‘Japanese imagination in the European culture’). Università degli studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Faculty of Sciences of communication; invited by Prof. Silvia Leonzi and Prof. Giovanni Ciofalo. 12 April.

INVITED LECTURE. 2011 | Italy. “Il maremoto in Giappone e il giornalismo italiano su internet” (‘The tsunami in Japan and the Italian journalism on the web’). Università degli studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Faculty of Sciences of communication; invited by Prof. Silvia Leonzi and Giovanni Ciofalo. 12 April.

INVITED LECTURE. 2011 | Italy. “Il lavoro di supervisione scientifica ed editoriale nella saggistica sui media del visivo” (‘Scientific and editorial supervision in essay books on visual media’). Università degli studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Faculty of Sciences of communication; invited by Prof. Silvia Leonzi and Giovanni Ciofalo. April 12.

INVITED LECTURE. 2011 | Japan. “Manga and anime in Italy—A special case of love at first sight: A story of sociological interest”. Kōbe University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Sociology, 17 March.

INVITED LECTURE. 2011 | England. “The Dragon and the Dazzle: Japanese imagination in Italy”. Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture – Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, affiliated to the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England. 21 January.

AWARDS. February 2010 | Two Japan Foundation awards: fundings for the translation into English and for the publication of the book The Dragon and the Dazzle.

INVITED LECTURE. 2010 | Germany. “Japanese pop culture in Italy through anime and manga: Features of a successful encounter”. Lecture given at the academic workshop Zwischen Transkulturalität und Japanizität (‘Between transculturality and Japaneseness’), invited by Prof. Dr. Michiko Mae, Heinrich Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf. June 18.

INVITED LECTURE. 2010 | Italy. “Alcune questioni sulla J-Culture in Europa” (‘Some issues on J-Culture in Italy and Europe’). Invited by Prof. Silvia Leonzi and Prof. Giovanni Ciofalo, “La Sapienza” University, Rome (Italy), “Languages and Techniques of Mass Media” course. 8 April.

INVITED LECTURE. 2009 | Germany. “The Dragon and the Dazzle: A starting overview for a general ‘mapping’ of the J-Pop in Europe”. Invited by Prof. Lisette Gebhardt and Dr. Cosima Wagner, “Johann W. Goethe” Universität, Faculty of Japanology, Frankfurt/Main (Germany). 10 June.

INVITED LECTURE. 2009 | Italy. “Le questioni generali per una nuova mappatura della J-Pop giunta in Italia e in Europa attraverso gli anime e i manga” (‘General issues for a new mapping of J-Pop in Italy and Europe through anime and manga’). Invited by Prof. Fabriano Fabbri, University of Bologna (Italy). 27 May.

AWARD. 14 December 2009 | “Claudia Augusta” Award (academic and money award). First prize, assigned by the academic committee of the “Claudia Augusta” Public Library in Bozen (Italy), and appointed to Marco Pellitteri’s doctoral dissertation.

AWARD. 15 October 2009 | “‘John A. Lent’ Scholarship in Comics Studies” (academic and economic awards and invitation, as a special guest, to give the key lecture at the ICAF conference 2009). Assigned by the Executive Committee of the ICAF, the International Comic Arts Forum, for the best research, and appointed to Pellitteri’s doctoral thesis. The award was delivered in Chicago during the 2009 ICAF yearly conference, which was held at the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago.

INVITED LECTURE. 2008 | Italy. “La cultura pop giapponese in Europa e in Italia” (‘Japanese pop culture in Europe and Italy’). Invited by Dr. Stefano Montes, University of Palermo (Italy), Cultural Anthropology course. 18 December.

INVITED LECTURE. 2008 | Germany. “Japanese pop culture in Europe”. Invited by Prof. Dr. Winfred Kaminski, Fachhochschule Köln (‘Cologne University of Applied Sciences’), Institut für Medienforschung und Medienpädagogik (‘Institute for Media Studies and Pedagogy of Mass Media’), Cologne (Germany). 3 December.

INVITED LECTURE. 2008 | Germany. “Graphic Novels from Italy: Works by Guido Crepax, Hugo Pratt, Dino Buzzati, and Milo Manara”. Invited by Prof. Hans-Heino Ewers and Dr. Bernd Dolle-Weinkauff, J.W. Goethe-Universität, Institut für Jugendliteraturforschung, Frankfurt/Main (Germany). 13 November.

INVITED LECTURE. 2008 | Italy. “Modelli, strategie e identità dell’immaginario giapponese” (‘Models, strategies, and identities of Japanese imagination’), Romics festival (Rome), programme of the “Università del fumetto” (‘University of Comics’), under the aegis of the IULM University (Milan; Prof. Alberto Abruzzese), the University of Salerno (Prof. Gino Frezza, Prof. Sergio Brancato), the University of Lecce (Prof. Stefano Cristante), and the SSSUB (Scuola superiore di studi umanistici dell’Università di Bologna—‘High institute of humanities at the University of Bologna’, Prof. Daniele Barbieri). Italy. 5 October.

INVITED LECTURE. 2007 | Switzerland. “La patrie du manga dans l’Occident: réception, absorption, réinterpretation transculturelle en Italie d’un imaginaire glocalisé” (‘Manga’s country in the West: Reception, absorption, and transcultural reinterpretation in Italy of a glocalized imagination’). Invited by the University of Geneva, with funding from the Consulate General of Japan in Switzerland. 8 November.

INVITED LECTURE. 2007 | Italy. “Metafore e identità giapponese nei robot giganti” (‘Metaphors and Japanese identity in giant robots’). Presented at the conference Robomorfosi: evoluzione del concetto di robot nell’animazione giapponese come specchio di una analisi sociologica (‘Robo-morphosis: Evolution of the robot concept in Japanese animation as a mirror for a sociological analysis’), Invited by “La Sapienza” University of Rome, faculty of Communication Sciences. 13 July.

INVITED LECTURE. 2007 | Italy. “Prassi e pratiche lavorative nel settore del fumetto” (‘Praxis and work practices in the comics industry’), invited by Prof. Dr. Silvia Gherardi. University of Trento, faculty of Sociology. 27 March.

INVITED LECTURE. 2007 | Italy. “Da Clark Kent a Joe Sacco: l’ideologia nei comics avventurosi e il giornalismo grafico” (‘From Clark Kent to Joe Sacco: Ideology in adventure comics, and graphic journalism’). Presented at the lectures series L’immagine persuasiva: narrazione e retorica per immagini (‘The persuading image: Narration and rhetorics by images’), invited by Prof. Dr. Fulvio Ferrari. University of Trento, Department of Literary, Linguistic and Philologic Studies. 26 March.

AWARD. 23 June 2000 | “Franco Fossati” Award for the best volume on comics studies, with the scholarly book Mazinga Nostalgia (1999). Award appointed in Rimini, Italy.

AWARD. June 1996 | Italy. Medail from the City of Rome for the win of the competition for the brand logo of Acquario Romano (a public museum and theatre of Rome). Award ppointed in Rome, Italy.