Dallas Smythe served as a professor and/or guest lecturer at several universities from 1948 to 1988, including the University of Illinois; the University of Saskatchewan at Regina; the University of California, San Diego; Simon Fraser University; Temple University; Ohio State University; and the University of Hawaii. Smythe also participated in teach-ins on the topics of the Vietnam War, Reaganomics, and other subjects. He was also involved in research and lecturing at the Centre for International Research on Communications and Information Technology (CIRCIT) in Sydney, Australia.

Series consists of records arising from Smythe's teaching activities at various locations. Series includes course outlines, lecture notes, reference material, class readings, and other materials. The majority of the records in this series relate to courses on the political economy of communications, and other topics in the field of communications.