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- Incoming PhD student Rose Muonanu receives Canada Impact+ Research Training Award
- School of Communication Introduces Topic Pathways to Undergraduate Curriculum
- Meet the June Convocation Award Winners from the School of Communication
- School of Communication Graduand Kayli Jamieson’s Journey From Grad School to Long COVID Advocacy
- See the Projects from the Inaugural CMNS Celebrates: Student Showcase & Alumni Mixer Event
- PhD Student Jiaqi Wen is Named 2026-2027 Adelle and Erwin Tomash Fellow
- Communication Research for Social Change 2025 Project Showcase
- School of Communication Graduate Amy Yang Balances Research Ambitions with Service to Student Union
- School of Communication Graduate Alysha Bains Leaves Lasting Legacy for TAs as She Completes Her PhD
- All Students Invited to Build their Professional Communication Skills in New Course
- How Co-op and the CMNSU Prepared Harshita Srivastava for a Career in Public Relations
- Community Activist and SFU Graduate Jody Bauche Leads Social Change Efforts in Indigenous Cultural Preservation
- CONDUITS (CMNS Graduate Student Conference) Photo Gallery
- School of Communication Student Naiha Kaba Receives Inaugural Magnolia Spirit Award
- Mariane Bourcheix-Laporte Successfully Defends Thesis on Artist-Run Centres
- Mamadou Ba Awarded Honorary Degree from the Federal University of Pará
- School of Communication Invites Students to Reimagine Data and Become Data Fluent
- Communication Research for Social Change MA Prepares Students to Confront Social Problems
- PhD Student Siobhan Watters Successfully Defends Thesis
- First Cohort of Communication Research for Social Change MA Students Present their Projects
- Undergraduate student Liam McKay-Argyriou Wins Loran Award for Podcast Development and Community Building
- School of Communication Graduate Researches how TikTok Influences Climate Change Communication
- Meet the First School of Communication Accelerated Master’s Program Graduate
- School of Communication Graduand Discusses how to Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone
- Macy Moreno & Zarena Zaidi on Teaching Children about the Magic of Filmmaking
- Joaquin Suarez and His Drive for Communication Research
- Three Convocating Students Tell Us About Their CMNS Journey
- Genevieve Cheng and Sharing Isn't Caring
- Sureeta Rai Presents Her Research at the FCAT Undergraduate Conference
- Meet Gideone Kremler, Our New CMNS Indigenous Peer Mentor
- Silke Billings: From Student to Full-Time Employee
- Graduating Student Sharlyn Monillas Tells Us About Her Time in CMNS
- Getting to Know Layla Cameron
- Mina Einifar: MA Student, Digital Marketing Expert, and Influencer Activist
- Breanna Blackwell & Undergraduate Research
- Graduate student a top 25 finalist in pretigeous challenge
- Congratulations to our MA and PhD students
- Climate Strike in Vancouver: SFU CMNS Perspective
- A Creative Communicator is on the Horizon | Aliya Dall’Antonia
- Tara Mahoney on inter-generational civic engagement, climate change, and importance of hope
- The Heyang Rural Research Center
- Luke Galvani challenges common stereotypes surrounding disability
- Bernice Mau: How to grow a successful side-hustle as a student
- 2020 Convocation Medal winners
- 2021 FCAT UGC Student Stories
- CMNS Co-op student graduating this fall recognized for her work fostering equity, diversity and inclusion
- CMNS graduate students publish book reviews in the International Journal of Communication
- Communication honours student studies online conspiracy theories, disinformatio
- Communication student Clayton Wong reflects on his co-op journey
- Congratulations to our 2019/20 Major Award Recipients
- Congratulations to our 2020/2021 Major Award Recipients
- Doctoral candidate Stacey Copeland and PhD student Brett Ashleigh are finalists in this year’s SSHRC Storytellers competition
- Embracing the university experience in all forms - Rachel Wong
- Fall 2021 Convocation: Looking Back
- Meet communication undergraduate student Ashran Bharosha
- Gaining experience as an undergraduate: Communication major and SIAT minor expands diverse skill set at SFU
- FCAT UGC Student Stories
- Meet Samad and Lindsay: Convocation Spring 2021 Student Speakers
- PhD candiate Stacey Copeland: Scholarly podcasters are redefining peer-reviewed work
- Memory of migrant abuse fuels SFU Trudeau Scholar’s lifelong fight for human rights
- PhD candidate Belen Febres-Cordero recognized for community engagement work at annual President’s Gala
- PhD student Laya Behbahani is SFU Social Media Newsmaker of the Year
- Stacey Copeland uncovers the historical voices of Canada’s queer media soundscape
- Tri-Agency Scholarships and Fellowships Recipients
- Undergraduate students launch online platform MyCityMyPark project with the City of Vancouver
- Faculty Stories
- Professor Ahmed Al-Rawi’s major research projects examine how media narratives shape public discourse on key topics
- Author Celebration and Welcome Reception Event Recap
- Meet the School of Communication Leadership Team
- Soundscape Studies Pioneer Barry Truax Receives Honorary Degree from SFU
- Chinese Workers in Capitalist Globalization: Professor Siyuan Yin’s New Book on Migrant Worker Labour Activism in China
- School of Communication Professor Kirsten McAllister Releases New Book "After Redress"
- Four School of Communication Faculty Receive FCAT Excellence Awards
- Professor Sarah Ganter Awarded Trans-Atlantic Partnership Grant to Research the Meanings of Independence in Journalism
- Reflecting on Professor Stuart Poyntz’ Time as Director of the School of Communication
- School of Communication Professor Milena Droumeva Named School Director
- Getting to Know Your CMNS Faculty: Erique Zhang
- School of Communication professor Wendy Chun named British Academy Fellow
- Sarah Christina Ganzon Racialized and Indigenous Scholars Network Talk
- School of Communication Professor Explores the Rise of Indigenous Media in Canada
- School of Communication Professor Works to Understand the Role of Communication in the Opioid Crisis
- Getting to Know Your CMNS Faculty: Jas Morgan
- Getting to Know Your CMNS Faculty: Sarah Christina Ganzon
- Getting to Know Your CMNS Faculty: Sarah Ganter
- Getting to Know Your CMNS Faculty: Stephanie Dick
- Getting To Know Your CMNS Faculty: Adel Iskandar
- Professors Siyuan Yin, Svitlana Matviyenko, and Karrmen Crey Awarded Insight Development Grants
- Getting To Know Our Faculty: Siyuan Yin
- Wendy Chun and Amy Harris, Keynote Speakers
- A Soundwalk with Milena Droumeva
- Dal Yong Jin Becomes an ICA Fellow
- Protecting Expert Advice for the Public: Promoting Safety and Improved Communications – A Town Hall
- The Medium is the Metaverse: Studying New Media in Virtual Reality
- Peter Anderson: BC floods reveals need for systemic change in emergency management
- Karrmen Crey: Indigenous Epistemologies
- Join the Clubhouse: communication course goes mobile
- Victoria E. Thomas: Seek a research question that sparks your curiosity and challenges your personal ideologies
- Peter Anderson: Fighting fires with better emergency communication
- Andrew Feenberg retires from the School of Communication
- Remembering R. Murray Schafer
- CMNS faculty members receive tri-council grants to support their research
- Cait McKinney receives the 2021 Gertrude J. Robinson Award
- Ellen Balka and UBC researchers take aim at preventing adverse drug events
- Knowledge Mobilizers: Ahmed Al-Rawi
- Enda Brophy receives Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC Academic of the Year award
- Ahmed Al-Rawi: How did Russian and Iranian trolls’ disinformation influence Canadian politics?
- Martin Laba: What I'm learning about remote teaching
- The Digital Democracies Institute launch the DDI Blog
- Ahmed Al-Rawi co-authors The COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Handbook
- Listening to the city: Livable Soundscapes soundwalk research workshop
- Dal Yong Jin receives the title Distinguished SFU Professor
- Labour challenges of food delivery service workers in Metro Vancouver
- Sun-ha Hong: Big Data's promise to solve society's problems falls short
- Welcoming our new School Chairs
- Peter Chow-White: Social media during a crisis and how we stay connected
- Transforming Discourses, Information Flows, and Power because: BLACK LIVES MATTER!
- Communication professors developing tools to tackle online abuse
- Communications professor Adel Iskandar embraces storytelling and active dialogue
- COVID-19 Research Information
- Yuezhi Zhao receives Canada's highest academic honour
- Siyuan Yin: On the intersectional approach to researching global migration
- Steven Malcic: Envision policy frameworks and user tactics to foster an internet that works for us
- Aleena Chia: Inspired to uncover the infrastructures behind addiction vs engagement in the gaming industry
- Cait McKinney: The transformative history of LGBTQ communities and their communication needs
- Assistant Professors receive SHRCC Grant
- Robert Anderson receives the 2018 Chris Dagg Award for International Impact
- SFU CMNS New Website Launch
- Alumni Stories
- School of Communication Alumnus Michael Karlberg Calls for a New Approach to Social Justice in Open-Source Book
- Virgin Radio host and Communication alumnus Nira Arora named Adjunct Professor
- Alumni Feature: Dr. Johnny Chan
- School of Communication Alumnus Kenny Tung Discusses Building Your Resume While Studying
- School of Communication Alumnus Terence Yee Discusses the Importance of Communication in Healthcare and Marketing
- School of Communication Graduate Mozhgan Fazli Transfers Research Skillset to Industry
- From the Honour’s Program to Master’s: Alan Röpke Looks Back at his Time as an Undergraduate Student
- Professor Bruce Carruthers Discusses how SFU Experience Shaped his Academic Career
- How Yzobel Biron became a Successful Entrepreneur after Graduation
- Communication alumnus and renowned acoustic ecologist Hildegard Westerkamp receives honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from SFU
- School of Communication Alumnus Becomes Successful Author while Embracing Working in Industry
- Manisha Singh on Pursuing Her Dream to Becoming a Bestselling Author
- School of Communication Graduand Excels in Academia After Working in Public Relations for 10 Years
- Stefanie Costales on Finding a Job That’s Right For You
- Rumneek Johal: Not Backing Down in the Journalism World
- Prem Gill and Creative BC
- Grace Mavko Takes on the Field of Public Relations
- Naomi Ambrose Introduces the Christmas Snow Woman
- Jennifer Rhyne Takes Her Communication Degree to CBC
- Danielle Leroux and the She Summits Forum
- Anita Huberman, an Alumna Superstar
- Itse Hesse and Black Girl Collective
- Matthew Steinbach: Head Coach, CMNS Alumus, and Venture Prize Winner
- SFU honours three outstanding alumni
- Curiosity and dialogue: Communication alumnus pursues a passionate career of art and education
- Tips from a CMNS Alumnus: Jas Baweja
- Brett Montrose: Communication alumnus to award-winning founder
- CMNS alumnus launches art and essay exhibition
- Jenessa Gladstone: One alumni's journey from SFU to landing roles with Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Arc'teryx
- Shipra Sharma: From International Student Experience to Landing a Marketing Job at Telus
- Manjot Bains - A look at University Writing and Diversity in Media
- Women in Equity Crowdfunding: Elyssia Patterson from Vested.ca
- The Collective Blog
- A Slightly Unhinged Guide to Making Friends in University
- When Silence Spoke Louder Than Words: My CONDUITS 2025 Experience
- Barbie: a Surprisingly Feminist Film
- A Quick List of Must-Take Communication Courses
- Social Media as Mirror of Erised
- Handling Anxiety as a Student
- Leading with Quietness: A Note to Working Introverts
- Gaining Experience to Achieve Your Career Goals
- Putting my Passions to Work
- Vanquishing the Social Stigma on Mental Well-Being
- New to SFU? Here Are Three Helpful Tips to Assist You on Your Journey!
- Accessible Online Content Now
- Spill the Tea: Gentrification of Vancouver Chinatown
- Student’s Experience at Careers in Communications
- Finding Balance in Unbalanced Times: Learning and Working Remotely
- Surprising Yourself: How Keeping an Open Mind is One of the Best Things You Can Do as a Young Professional
- Meet Kayli Jamieson: Communication honours student and undergraduate research assistant
- CMNSU: Five Things I’ve Learned at SFU
- CMNSU presents "Evolve Rebooted: The Zoom Series"
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- Immersing Yourself at SFU
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- Meet Marilyn Brimacombe: CMNS Co-op student shares experience working at FCAT and the Parkinson's Society BC
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Associate Professor
Email: jmax@sfu.ca
Office: HC 7351
Mastodon: https://hcommons.social/@jmaxsfu
John W. Maxwell
John has been working in digital media since 1993: electronic publishing, SGML & XML, learning technologies, virtual communities, and the evolving culture of digital media. After working in distance education at the BC’s Open Learning Agency in the 1990s, he did a doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of British Columbia, where his research focused on the cultural history of personal and educational computing at Xerox PARC in the 1970s. His interest in the histories of media technologies have led him to study different eras: the digital revolution in contemporary publishing; the advent of modern computing -- and digital publishing technologies -- in the 1970s, the rise of mechanization in publishing in the early 20th century, and more recently, the origins of modern publishing in the 15th century.
John taught in SFU's Master of Publishing Program from the early 2000s until 2026, leading the MPub seminar PUB 800: Publishing and the Problem of Capitalism; the project-based PUB 607: Digital Publishing Workshop; and the undergraduate foundation course PUB 101: Publication of Self in Everyday Life. John is settler scholar, born east of the Rockies but has lived on the west coast most of his life. He’s married with a couple of grown kids, one large dog, and a very fluffy cat.
EDUCATION
- MPub – Simon Fraser University ,1997
- PhD – UBC, Education, 2007
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Maxwell, John W. & Alessandra Bordini. 2026. "A Prototyping Renaissance: Opening the black boxes of publication in the humanities." Journal of Electronic Publishing 29. 1. https://doi.org/10.3998/jep.7837
- Maxwell, John W. 2022. "The Care-ful Reviewer: Peer Review as if People Mattered" Pop! Public. Open. Participatory. No 04. https://doi.org/10.54590/pop.2022.004
- Maxwell, John W. 2020. “Text Processing Techniques & Traditions: Why the History of Computing Matters to DH” in Doing Digital Humanities 2. ed by by Richard J. Lane, Raymond Siemens, & Constance Crompton. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429353048-6/text-processing-techniques-traditions-history-computing-matters-dh-john-maxwell
- Maxwell, John W, et al. 2019. "Mind the Gap: A Landscape Analysis of Open Source Publishing Tools & Platforms." MIT Press/Knowledge Futures Group. DOI: 10.21428/6bc8b38c.2e2f6c3f https://mindthegap.pubpub.org/
- Maxwell, John W, Alessandra Bordini, & Katie Shamash. 2017. “Reassembling Scholarly Communications: An Evaluation of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Monograph Initiative.” Journal of Electronic Publishing 20 (1), April, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0020.101
RESEARCH AREAS
History of publishing; History of technology; History of publishing technology; Scholarly publishing in the digital age; Practical publication technologies and practices.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Current SSHRC-funded research project: Digital Remediation of SFU's Wosk-McDonald Aldine Collection: a digital humanities project showcasing of 130+ volumes from 15th and 16th-century Venice, the very dawn of the age of print. https://alduslibsfu.ca