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Dr Jess Hardley

Post Doctoral Research Fellow

Staff Member Details
Email: j.hardley@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Joondalup  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0029-3726

Background

Dr Jess Hardley is a Research Fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child at Edith Cowan University. Jess’ research sits at the intersection of digital childhood studies, mobile media studies, feminist geography, phenomenology and embodiment, and innovative ethnographic methods. Jess is especially interested in the use of safety apps and devices, how smartphones shape our individual and collective sense of physical safety and risk in public spaces, and the ethics and inequalities around digital dis/connection.

Professional associations

  • Board member, Journal of Digital Geography and Society (2020-current)
  • Member, The International Merleau-Ponty Circle (2019-current)
  • Executive Committee Member, Association for Visual Pedagogies (Media and Communications Portfolio, 2025–2026)
  • EMCR Network Committee Member, Edith Cowan University (2025–2026)
  • Wellbeing Co-Lead, Children, Families and Communities Research Group, Edith Cowan University (2024–2026)

Awards and recognition

  • Visiting Scholar, KU Leuven (Belgium) (2026)
  • Visiting Scholar, The University of Swansea (Wales) (2026)
  • Visiting Scholar, University of Sheffield (England) (2025)
  • Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge (England) (2025)
  • PhD thesis nominated for the Association of Internet Researchers Best Thesis Award (2022)

National and International Research Awards

  • Future Leaders International Collaboration Award, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child (2026) – $9,300
  • Future Leaders International Collaboration Award, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child (2025) – $6,000
  • Research Fellow Excellence in Engagement and Impact Award, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child (2025)

Research areas and interests

  • Mobile media
  • Smartphones and apps
  • Digital childhoods
  • Feminist digital geography
  • Gender and digital cultures
  • Phenomenology and embodiment
  • Digital dis/connection
  • Digital ethnography and participatory methods

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Media and Communication, RMIT University, 2022
  • Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree in Women's and Gender Studies (GEMMA), Utrecht University (Netherlands) & Central European University (Hungary), 2010.
  • Bachelor of Arts (Hons.), Monash University, 2007

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 2022.

Research Outputs

Journal Articles

Book Chapters

Journal Articles

Journal Articles

  • Hardley, J., Richardson, I. (2021). Digital placemaking and networked corporeality: Embodied mobile media practices in domestic space during Covid-19. Convergence, 27(3), 625-636. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856520979963.
  • Hardley, J., Richardson, I. (2021). Mistrust of the City at Night: Networked Connectivity and Embodied Perceptions of Risk and Safety. Australian Feminist Studies, 36(107), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/08164649.2021.1934815.
  • Hardley, J. (2021). Embodied Perceptions of Darkness: Multistable Experiences of Mobile Media in the Urban Night. M/C Journal, 24(2), 9 pages. https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.2756.
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