Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Kevin Rockett, Fellow Emeritus, Drama

This week we are proud to announce Dr. Kevin Rockett as our faculty spotlight.

Many of you may know Dr. Rockett as a professor of Film Studies in the School of Drama, Film, and Music. Dr. Rockett came to Trinity in 2000, but he had a long and storied career before then!

He was the chairman of the Irish Film Institute from 1984 to 1991, and received his PhD from the University of Ulster in 1989. Prior to coming to Trinity, he taught film studies at UCD. He was made a Fellow of the College in 2004, and in 2006 he was made Head of School for the School of Drama, Film, and Music. During his time as Head of School, Dr. Rockett was responsible for the strategic development of the newly formed school, and later became the School’s Director of Research. He also helped create the Master of Philosophy in Film Theory and History program, which was introduced in 2007.

Dr. Rockett is the director of the Trinity-based Irish Film & TV Research Online database, something many of you may have used in the past or will use in the future! If you don’t know about it, go check it out; we have it linked in the Filmmaking Guide & Resources section of this site.

Aside from academia, Dr. Rockett has authored or co-authored 13 books, including his seminal work Cinema and Ireland (1987), which many refer to as a “pioneering” text in film studies. In 1995, he wrote a screenplay for the film Irish Cinema: Ourselves Alone?

In 2001, Rockett received the Irish Film Institute Award for Contribution to Irish Film, and in 2010 he was made a Full Member of the Irish Film and Television Academy.

As you can see, quite the career. We can only aspire to achieve the things that this man has! This one goes out to you, Dr. Rockett – thank you for all you that you have done and continue to do for Film at Trinity!