Undergraduate Courses

Discover the Power of Publishing with Simon Fraser University's PUB101: The Publication of Self in Everyday Life! Are you ready to unleash your inner publisher. In today's digital landscape, the saying "everyone is a publisher" has never been more relevant. But what does it truly mean to be a publisher without compromising the rich traditions that define its enduring value? Prepare to delve into the global, interconnected digital spaces we inhabit and uncover the fascinating possibilities for engagement in networked publics.

This course provides students with a basic understanding of the principles and elements fundamental to publication design and production in print.

Social media are transforming the public behaviour of organizations into publishing activities focused on the management of their social identities.

During this course, participants will gain university-level skills and practice in writing clear, concise, logical and direct text suited to particular professional purposes.

A critical and applied approach to theories and practices of professional public engagement, with a focus on public relations.

Design and production processes are an essential aspect of publishing. This course provides students a basic understanding of the principles and elements fundamental to publication design and production.

The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” might be a metaphor, but when it comes to actual books, their covers – and their design as a whole – are essential for reaching audiences and communicating what’s on the page. Building on the principles learned in PUB 231: Graphic Design Fundamentals, this course explores the role of graphic design in how we buy, read, and understand books.

An in-depth study of the design methods fundamental to periodicals in print and in digital media.

Students of PUB 350 will study the best practices of contemporary book marketing.

PUB 355W-4 explores the ways that publishers use digital channels, devices, and platforms to build or promote marketing messages.

This course is about the book publishing industry in Canada, with a focus on how we got here, where we are now, and where we’re going next.

Take a captivating journey into the world of book publishing with PUB 372: The Book Publishing Process! Witness the transformation of a writer's idea into a tangible book that has the power to shape lives, alter history, and ignite conversations. Whether it's on bookstore shelves, your smartphone as a podcast or audio book, or an electronic reading device, books play a pivotal role in our society. In this course, we explore the publisher's crucial role as the mediator of the publishing process, investing faith, reputation, and limited resources to contribute valuable works to our cultural landscape.

PUB 375 is designed around the pedagogical approach called creative inquiry. The hallmarks of creative inquiry are threefold: it encourages a creative mindset, it helps you develop work-related skills, and, in the end, it supports you in building a portfolio that demonstrates your skills.

Technology and the Evolving Book explores the dramatic, controversial, and sometimes baffling movement within the book industry today as writers, readers, and markets move increasingly online. This course attempts to envision the future of the book by making sense of their past and present, and by understanding the technological and social forces that have shaped their trajectory.

An introduction to basic editorial principles fashioned by an understanding of Indigenous practices and protocols to demonstrate how Indigenous people's ways of being, worldviews, and life experiences play into editorial decision-making.

This fall, join us for PUB 411: Making Knowledge Public: How Research Makes Its Way Into Society. Designed to spark conversations and engage students from across the university, the course explores the changing role of research, knowledge-making, and truth in the public sphere. This new course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students (in the Master of Publishing program as PUB 611) and will take place in person and online on Tuesdays and Thursdays at SFU's Harbour Centre campus and will be taught by Dr. Alperin, co-director of the Scholarly Communications Lab.

With digital technologies, we are pushed to ask what is a publication (form/content), and, within the context of this class, what is the role of designers in publishing. This course mixes research and design practice to investigate and experiment with the idea of publications from a designer’s point of view.

This course provides publishing students with a survey of skills and knowledge grounding design thinking, interrelations between design and the making of knowledge and meaning, teamwork by and in design, and some well-worn principles focusing design constraints and opportunities, problems and solutions.

An exploration of the relationship between publishing and social change, both historically and today.

Book publishing is a cultural activity, but first and foremost, it is a commercial activity. PUB 450 surveys a range of business aspects of publishing, by examining publishing companies that are well managed and successful.

The course covers case studies, and best practices for the management of festivals and literary events both physical and digital, with a practical focus. This course is designed to equip you with practical skills needed for event management including budgeting, fundraising, grant writing, and program planning, this course fosters essential skills and knowledge needed to work in the event industry and provides students with access to industry experts. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dive into practical, hands-on projects that mirror real-world publishing scenarios.

Technological change is affecting the media and traditional publishing by disrupting its business model, methods of dissemination, and control.

A practicum in which students have the opportunity to work in an applied publishing setting.

An advanced workshop on the publishing process focused on applied research.

PUB 480 (STC) is an in-person special topics course (STC) focusing on the history of publication design. This course develops a critical awareness of enduring tensions between commerce and creativity in the publishing industry, all the while considering broader social contexts and technological developments. It seeks to understand the roles of design(ers) in the present by studying the past. This course surveys publication design from the mid-/late-1800s to present day. It considers a variety of printed and digital publications, from the collectible to the ephemeral, that address a range of audiences, from children to adults.

Discover the transformative potential of accessible publishing and pave the way for a more equitable and balanced society with industry expert, Laura Brady. In this online course, we'll explore actionable accessibility steps for everyone in the publishing industry. When books are made accessible, society flourishes. Readers with print disabilities are often excluded from the joy of reading because the necessary formats are not readily available. As digital publications continue to grow, technical debt still holds back many from accessing content through assistive technologies.