معرفی
Benjamin Woo serves as Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Carleton University's School of Journalism and Communication, where he concurrently holds interim Associate Director and program head roles. Currently on sabbatical until January 1, 2026, he remains academically active through editorial work and keynote engagements including the 2022 TCAF Academic Symposium.
Education:
- BA Hons., Queen's University
- MA, Simon Fraser University
- PhD, Simon Fraser University
His research interrogates popular media industries and audiences through comics studies, fan studies, and audience studies frameworks. Expertise spans race, visual culture, and popular culture with emphasis on comic conventions, geek subcultures, and media fandom dynamics. Methodologically grounded in cultural studies, his work examines community formation, industry labor practices, and racial representation within fan cultures.
Recent publications (2021-2025) reveal three dominant trajectories: pandemic impacts on fan conventions (e.g., virtual Comic-Cons), racial politics in media fandom (particularly whiteness studies), and historical analyses of comics production. These intersect at the nexus of digital platforms, community resilience, and cultural labor within niche media ecosystems.
Awards:
- 2022 Best Edited Book Prize (Comics Studies Society) for The Comics World: Comic Books, Graphic Novels and Their Publics
Dr. Woo supervises graduate research in popular culture, media industries, and comics studies while leading Carleton's Research on Comics, Con Events, and Transmedia (RoCCET) Lab. His service includes editorial roles at Transformative Works and Cultures and Popular Communication, plus co-editing Concordia University Press's Cultural Production series. Effective July 2022, he assumed Carleton's inaugural Associate Dean—Equity and Inclusion position in the Faculty of Public Affairs.
