Theaters of War - Sebastian Kaempf

This is the first episode in our special series on entertainment and the law of war.

In this episode, Dr Sebastian Kaempf, a Senior Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies, joins Dr Lauren Sanders to discuss. his documentary: and the documents he's uncovered from the US CIA and military Entertainment Liaison Offices as part of this project.   

Dr Sebastian Kaempf is a Senior Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies at the School of Political Science and International Studies, at the University of Queensland. Sebastian received his PhD at Aberystwyth University in the UK, at the Department of International Politics. He also holds a BSc and MSc (Econ) in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Among his awards is the ISA Deborah Gerner Award for Teaching Innovation in 2020. His work at UQ includes producing and convening 'MediaWarX', one of UQ's Massive Open Online Courses.

Sebastian also hosts a podcast with his colleague Associate Professor Al Stark, where they interview some of the best teachers about their practical advice on engaging university students in the classroom. You can listen to 'Higher Ed Heroes' here on Buzzsprout. 

Additional Resources:

• ‘Theaters of War: How the Pentagon and CIA took Hollywood’ is a feature-length film documentary, produced and directed by Roger Stahl, Tom Secker, Matthew Alford and Sebastian Kaempf, funded and released through the Media Education Foundation in May 2022.  
• Tom Secker and Matthew Alford, ‘New Evidence for the Surprisingly Significant Propaganda Role of the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense in the Screen Entertainment Industry’ (2019) 45(3) Critical Sociology 347. 
• Tom Secker and Matthew Alford, ‘Why are the Pentagon and the CIA in Hollywood?’ (2017) 76(2) The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 381. 
• James Der Derian, Virtuous War: Mapping the Military-industrial-media-entertainment Network (Routledge, 2nd ed, 2009)