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Bruce is an associate professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he creates and teaches courses about journalism and user experience design. In 2017, he was named a university teaching fellow. Between 2018 and 2022, he was the coordinator of Laurier’s Digital Media and Journalism program.
His research focuses on literary journalism, journalism ethics, journalism education and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). His work has been published in a range of journals and books, including Literary Journalism Studies, Teaching & Learning Inquiry and The Routledge Companion to Journalism Ethics.
He is the author of News Writing and Reporting: An Introduction to Skills and Theory, published by Oxford University Press, which is used in university and college classrooms across Canada. He also edited three collections of personal essays about the family in the 21st century, including Nobody’s Father: Life Without Kids and Somebody’s Child: Stories About Adoption, both with Lynne Van Luven, and A Family by Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships, which was a finalist in the LGBT Anthology category of the 27th annual Lambda Literary Awards and was the silver medal winner in the LGBT Non-Fiction Category at the 2015 Independent Book Publisher Awards (IPPYs).
Bruce was the editor-in-chief of J-Source.ca and the inaugural co-editor of the Journal of Integrated Studies. He has served on a number of committees at the faculty and senate level related to academic planning, curriculum, teaching and learning and quality assurance. He has also been involved in internal and external program reviews.
In 2020, the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities recognized him with a Minister’s Award of Excellence for his work keeping the Laurier Brantford community connected through the One Market podcast, which he created and produced with Tarah Brookfield between 2020 and 2021.
I recently published a study that examined how the use of storytelling and elements of game design can increase engagement and help students better understand the connections between theory and practice. My other research interests include literary journalism, journalism and media ethics and creative nonfiction.
- I received the Minister of Colleges and Universities Award of Excellence in 2020 for my work on the One Market podcast
- I was named the 2017 Wilfrid Laurier University Teaching Fellow.
- My book A Family By Any Other Name won a silver medal (LGBT non-fiction) at the 2015 Independent Publisher Book Awards and was a finalist (LGBT Anthology) at the Lambda Literary Awards the same year.
- I was the editor-in-chief of J-Source from 2013 to 2016.
- I was a Top 25 Finalist in the Great Ideas for Teaching Awards held by the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2012.
- Gillespie, Bruce; Goodridge, Michelle; Hall, Shirley. (2024). "Reaching Across the Disciplines to Build a Grassroots SoTL Community" in Miller-Young, J. and Chick, Nancy L. (Eds.), Becoming a SoTL Scholar. Elon, NC: Elon University Center for Engaged Learning.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2022). "Using Digital Storytelling and Game-Based Learning to Increase Student Engagement and Connect Theory with Practice." Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 10(April).
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2022). "The Case for Using Informed Consent in Journalism" in Price, L., Sanders, K. and Wyatt, W. (Eds). The Routledge Companion to Journalism Ethics. New York: Routledge.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2019). "The Ethnographic Impulse" in Dow, W. and Maguire, R. (Eds.). The Routledge Companion to American Literary Journalism. New York: Routledge.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2018). News Writing and Reporting: An Introduction to Skills and Theory. Toronto: Oxford University Press Canada.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2017).“Media Whining or Democratic Crisis? How Institutional Secrecy is Contextualized in National Newspapers” in Taylor, L., and O’Hagan, C. (Eds.). Press Freedom in Canada: A Status Report on the 30th Anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2016). “Edna Staebler and the Lives of Women” in Joseph, S., and Keeble, R. (Eds.). Profile Pieces: Principles and Practice. London: Routledge.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2015). "The Works of Edna Staebler: Using Literary Journalism to Celebrate the Lives of Ordinary Canadians." Literary Journalism Studies, 7(1): 58-75.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (Ed.). (2014). A Family by Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships. Victoria: TouchWood Editions.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2012). “Building Bridges between Literary Journalism and Alternative Ethnographic Forms: Opportunities and Challenges.” Literary Journalism Studies 4(2): 67-79.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2012). “Clickers in the classroom.” J-Source. The Canadian Journalism Project.
- Gillespie, Bruce. (2012). “Why’s This So Good? No. 29: Andrea Curtis and the rhythm of mercy.” Nieman Storyboard. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
- Gillespie, Bruce, and Van Luven, Lynne. (Eds.). (2011). Somebody’s Child: Stories About Adoption. Victoria: TouchWood Editions.
- Van Luven, Lynne, and Gillespie, Bruce. (Eds.). (2008). Nobody’s Father: Life Without Kids. Victoria: TouchWood Editions.
In 2024-2025, I'll teach UX110: UX Writing I and UX210: UX Writing II.
- Strong, Gregory. (May 1, 2023). "Remote Leafs setup proves costly on call of OT goal that gave team series win." Toronto Star.
- Moritz, Brian. (August 2, 2018). "New journalism textbook News Writing and Reporting is a straightforward guide for students." J-Source.ca.
- Lu, Vanessa. (January 29, 2016). “Bleak times for Canadian journalism.” Toronto Star.
- Bimman, Abigail. (January 25, 2016). “No more Guelph Mercury.” CTV News.
- Paikin, Steve. (June 25, 2015). “Life without children.” The Agenda With Steve Paikin.
- Dagostino, Scott. (April 19, 2014). “All in the family.” Daily Xtra.
- Ruby, Michelle. (April 23, 2014). “Essays explore queer relationships.” Brantford Expositor.
- Galloway, Matt. (April 8, 2014). “Queer families.” Metro Morning.
In April 2020, my colleague Tarah Brookfield and I created One Market, a podcast to help keep the Laurier Brantford community feel connected as we worked and studied remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more than a year, we checked in with staff, faculty, students and alumni about how they were adjusting and chatted about their projects, hobbies and how they kept busy in their off-hours.
It was an experiment-in-progress, using the equipment we happened to have at home when campus closed and digital tools we had never used before. I’m always telling my students how important it is to be nimble and creative in the fields of journalism and digital communication, so this was me taking my own advice.
Between April 2020 and May 2021, the podcast was available to download wherever you found your podcasts–-Apple, Google, Stitcher, etc. During that time, we aired 35 episodes featuring 111 guests, 43 of whom were students or alumni, 37 were staff and 31 were faculty or librarians. The podcast was downloaded more than 3,200 times by about 1,700 unique listeners. It received a Minister's Award of Excellence from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities in October 2020. Now that the podcast has ended, we’ve made the episodes and transcripts available here.
Contact Info:
T: 548.889.4333
Office location: RCW 314
Office hours: 9 to 11 am, Fridays, or at other times by appointment
Languages spoken: English