Faculty Profile for Dr. Nicole Stewart

profile photo for Dr. Nicole Stewart
Dr. Nicole Stewart
Assistant Professor — School of Jrnlism & Mass Comm
phone: (512) 245-2656

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Dr. Nicole K. Stewart is an Assistant Professor of Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In Canada, she earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Communication from Simon Fraser University, and a B.A. in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University. Her research focuses on the social formations that emerge with the assemblage of publics and platforms (i.e., platform family/academy/publics).

In 2021, Nicole taught the first higher education class on audio social media (i.e., Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces), and in 2022, taught the first university class in Canada to be taught completely inside virtual reality. She enjoys teaching courses related to digital media, social media, mobile media, and immersive storytelling.

Before academia, Nicole worked as an industry professional in public relations, social media, branding, and marketing. 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 the digital publishing scene.

Teaching Interests

social media, mobile media, virtual reality, immersive storytelling, media literacy, communication technologies

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Al-Rawi, A., Celestini, C., Stewart, N. K. B., Nicolai, J., & Worku, N. (n.d.). The Canadian Far-Right and Conspiracy Theories. Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003502173/canadian-far-right-conspiracy-theories-ahmed-al-rawi-carmen-celestini-nicole-stewart-joseph-nicola%C3%AF-nathan-worku
  • Stewart, N. K. B. (2023, November). Digital Game Culture in Korea. Journal of Media Psychology. Hogrefe.
  • Stewart, N. K. B., Adams, P. R., & Quader, S. B. (2023). “We are disposable”: precarity, mobility, and inequity in higher education’s gig academy. Communication, Culture and Critique, tcad030, 1–8. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcad030
  • 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
  • Stewart, N. K. B., Al-Rawi, A., Celestini, C., & Worku, N. (2023). Hate Influencers’ Mediation of Hate on Telegram: “We Declare War Against the Anti-White System.” Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231177915

Selected Grants

  • Stewart, Nicole Kristal Bernice. Platforms & Everyday Life, SSHRC Explore Grant (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council - Federal Canadian Grant), $7000. (Funded: May 2023 - July 2023). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member
SJMC Graduate Committee
October 2023-Present
Undergraduate Advisor
September 2024-December 2025
Member
SJMC Graduate Committee
August 2024-August 2025
Graduate Advisor
August 2024-August 2025
Graduate Advisor
May 2024-August 2025