Teaching & Academic Leadership
John Bessai brings interdisciplinary teaching experience across Canadian Studies, Political Science, Community Economic and Social Development, Media Studies, Environmental Studies and documentary practice.
His teaching uses historical and archival evidence, policy documents, film, digital media and contemporary case studies to connect institutional history with current public questions.
Courses use policy documents, archival sources, film, interactive media, case studies, mapping, and structured discussion. Students move from short analytical exercises to research syntheses, policy writing, presentations, and media projects.
Bessai’s teaching examines Canadian state formation, Indigenous-settler relations, Canadian and Indigenous histories, environmental history, public memory, political institutions and the relationship between historical evidence and contemporary public life.
Current Teaching
Algoma University- Assistant Professor
Community Economic and Social Development
Global/Local Relations—Critical Perspectives
Community Advocacy and Social Justice
Previous Teaching Appointments
University College of The North – Assistant Professor
History and Indigenous Studies
Canadian politics and public policy
Okanagan College – Professor
Political Science
Trent University – Graduate Teaching Assistant / Academic Assistant
Canadian Studies
Cultural Studies
Environmental Studies
Gender Studies
Media Studies
Centennial College The Story Center – Professor
Integrated Media
Documentary Film Production
Multiplatform Production
Humber College – Professor
Multiplatform Storytelling
Niagara College – Professor
History
Interactive Media
Teaching areas:
- Canadian Institutions and Public Policy
- Human Rights and Institutional Accountability
- Canadian Political, Social, and Cultural History
- Indigenous-settler histories, land, and policy
- Environmental governance and public communication
- Documentary and interactive storytelling
- Public memory and digital humanities
Selected courses:
- Economic Development and the Social Economy
- Global/Local Relations—Critical Perspectives
- Community Advocacy and Social Justice
- Government of Canada Community
- Politics of Human Rights
- Canadian History: Post – Confederation
- Fur Trade and Indigenous Societies
- Documentary Film Production
- Multiplatform Storytelling
History Teaching
Bessai has taught Canadian, North American, northern and Indigenous histories, with particular attention to Canadian state formation, Indigenous sovereignty, settler colonialism, environmental history, public memory and the relationship between historical evidence and contemporary public institutions.
- Canadian History: Post-Confederation
- Fur Trade and Indigenous Societies
- Environmental History
- World Politics and History
Teaching Approach
My teaching treats students as developing researchers. Courses move from close reading and evidence analysis toward independent argument, applied research and public communication.
Historical records, policy documents, film, digital media and community-facing materials allow students to examine how knowledge is produced, contested and communicated.
Courses combine student-led discussion, short workshops, policy documents, archival sources, documentary film, interactive media, and group projects.
Assignments include research syntheses, policy and briefing-style writing, presentations, and media outputs.
- research writing
- seminar discussion
- archival analysis
- policy briefs
- presentations
- documentary/digital projects
- community-facing work
Delivery formats
- In-person, online, and hybrid delivery
- Lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials
- Supervision of research proposals and independent projects
- Proposal-to-delivery research and media-production workflows
