Hartley has worked in
Wales and Australia (Western Australia and
Queensland). He was at the
Polytechnic of Wales from 1975 to 1984, initially as a research assistant and tutor, and then as a lecturer in communication and cultural studies. From 1985 to 1995 he held a number of positions at
Murdoch University, ranging from lecturer to Director of the Centre for Research in Culture and Communication. In 1990 he received a PhD in communications Tom Hopkinson Centre for Media Research. the
International Journal of Cultural Studies, published by Sage Publications Ltd in London. Hartley was Dean of the Creative Industries Faculty at
Queensland University of Technology from 2000 to 2005. He was an
Australian Research Council (ARC) Federation Fellow and Research Director at the
ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation at Queensland University of Technology from 2005 to 2010. In 2006 he was made a Life Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts, having been a member since 1996. Between 2012 and 2019 Hartley was Professor of Cultural Science and Director of the Centre for Culture and Technology at
Curtin University, and Professor of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University. In December 2012 he was recognised for his academic contributions by being awarded the title of John Curtin Distinguished Professor. In 2014 the Queensland University of Technology announced the John Hartley Oxford Institute Summer Doctoral Programme Scholarship, to allow two students per year for the next five to six years to attend the
Oxford Internet Institute's summer doctoral programme. The scholarship is funded in part by "a generous personal gift" from Hartley, matched by funds from the university. In 2017, Hartley was elected a
Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. He led the
Digital Culture & New Media research program at Curtin University's CCAT. He is also a member of CCAT's
Indigenous Culture and Digital Technologies;
New Models of Publishing; and
Digital China Lab research programs. He continues, , as an adjunct professor with the centre. ==Publications==