Biography and education
Dr. Nicole K. Stewart is an Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Director of the Digital Media and Everyday Life Lab at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC). Dr. Stewart's research focuses on the social formations that emerge with the assemblage of publics and platforms across various institutions. Her work has been featured in journals like Social Media + Society, New Media & Society, Digital Journalism, Convergence, and Communication, Culture & Critique. She was awarded the Presidential Distinction Award for Scholarly/Creative Activities in 2025.
Within the Digital Media Innovation program at SJMC, Dr. Stewart teaches MC 5323 (Cultural Industries of Virtual Reality), MC 4328 (Digital Media Innovation Capstone), MC 3116 (AI Communicators for Culture Industries), and MC 4326 (Advanced Social Media & Analytics). Social Media Shows for MC 4326 are currently livestreamed to LinkedIn, Twitch, and YouTube.
In Canada, Dr. Stewart earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Communication from Simon Fraser University, a B.A. in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University, and an Advanced Diploma in Fashion Marketing & Merchandising from The Art Institutes. Before academia, she worked as an industry professional in public relations, social media, branding, and trend forecasting. She was the principal of a public relations firm and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of GLOSS Magazine, which was featured in The New York Times in 2008 for its innovation in digital publishing.
Dr. Stewart's Office: 306 OM
Digital Media & Everyday Life Lab: 106A OM
Within the Digital Media Innovation program at SJMC, Dr. Stewart teaches MC 5323 (Cultural Industries of Virtual Reality), MC 4328 (Digital Media Innovation Capstone), MC 3116 (AI Communicators for Culture Industries), and MC 4326 (Advanced Social Media & Analytics). Social Media Shows for MC 4326 are currently livestreamed to LinkedIn, Twitch, and YouTube.
In Canada, Dr. Stewart earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Communication from Simon Fraser University, a B.A. in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University, and an Advanced Diploma in Fashion Marketing & Merchandising from The Art Institutes. Before academia, she worked as an industry professional in public relations, social media, branding, and trend forecasting. She was the principal of a public relations firm and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of GLOSS Magazine, which was featured in The New York Times in 2008 for its innovation in digital publishing.
Dr. Stewart's Office: 306 OM
Digital Media & Everyday Life Lab: 106A OM
Research Interests
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Stewart, N. K. B., Nicolai, J. M., & Beamiss, G. (2025). Twitch’s Digital News Standard: Breaking Journalistic Boundaries in Platform Streaming Environments. Digital Journalism. https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2025.2583336
- Stewart, N. K. B. (2025). ‘It felt like the digital hands were my hands’: Spotlines and rhythm in the habituation of virtual reality and meta-spaces. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies.
- Al-Rawi, A., Celestini, C., Stewart, N. K. B., Nicolai, J., & Worku, N. (2025). The Canadian Far-Right and Conspiracy Theories. Routledge.
- Lesage, F., Stewart, N. K. B., & Tang, S. (2023). Finding a rhythm: The mediality of researching digital skill as process. New Media & Society, 1–21. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231192966
- Keshavarzian, H., & Stewart, N. K. B. (2025). “Make Iran Great Again”: Apolitical Influencers and the Revival of a Romantic Patriarchal Nationalism in Iran. Communication, Culture and Critique.