Media historian, political economist, creativity alchemist, coach, entrepreneur, design thinker.

Originally from Aotearoa New Zealand, David Newman has a PhD in Communication from Simon Fraser University where he completed his dissertation investigating colonial cinema policy in Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand in the 1920s and 30s, and British resistance against Hollywood.  He also holds an interdisciplinary Master of Fine Arts in Film, Theatre, Interpersonal Communication, and Public Relations from Ohio University, along with a Master of Arts (Applied) in Recreation Administration, with a focus on cultural policy, from Victoria University of Wellington.

His teaching portfolio includes Simon Fraser University, Ohio University, RMIT Vietnam, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and Vietnam National University. At UBC, aside from teaching in ASRW, he also teaches media history in the Department of History. He has given opening keynotes for academic conferences in Paris and Hanoi, as well as publishing a number of articles and chapters on film policy and history. David’s current research and publication project is focused on organisational creativity and leadership.

In addition to his academic duties, David is a certified coach, entrepreneur, and start-up founder, focusing on unleashing and developing creativity in leaders, teams, and organisations. He speaks about and runs workshops for organisations on creativity in both Asia and North America.

Creativity
( For a video introduction of David’s course topic click on the link underneath his profile picture.)

In a world where innovation has become highly sought after, creativity is the often-hidden engine necessary for innovation to take place. Creativity is now listed as one of the key skills required for employment in the 21^stcentury. But what is creativity, and how is it understood?

Creativity crosses discipline boundaries and can be viewed and understood through multiple lenses (such as business, engineering, and neuroscience). Using scholarship on Creativity as a vehicle, this course will introduce you to different genres and forms of academic writing. You will learn to conduct a literature review, write summaries, develop a research proposal, and then write (and rewrite) a research essay.