Richard Howells is a cultural sociologist who combines an international background in the humanities (Visual Studies at Harvard) and the social sciences (Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge). In 2004 he was Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Center for the Arts in Society at Carnegie Mellon University in the USA. He is now Reader in Cultural and Creative Industries and Director of the Centre for Cultural, Media and Creative Industries Research at King’s College, London. 

He specializes in visual and popular culture, combining theory and practice to explore case studies as seemingly diverse as the myth of the Titanic and the humour of Ali G. He is currently working on the ontology of the celebrity photographic image, the relationship between Navajo theology and design, and the life and work of Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince—who succeeded in making moving pictures several years before the accepted inventors of cinema. Finally, he is researching Ernst Bloch and a critical theory of art, literature, popular culture and Utopia. His work is united by asking the big questions about culture-–what is it? Why do we have it? And what does it tell us about ourselves? Publications include The Myth of the Titanic (1999), Visual Culture (2003, Chinese edition 2007) and Using Visual Evidence (2009), co edited with Robert Matson of the University of Pittsburgh.

He has recently written a policy essay, commissioned by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, arguing for the value of arts and humanities research to society. In addition to being a speaker at international conferences, Richard Howells is a regular contributor to BBC radio and television programmes on cultural, creative and media issues.