Research Themes

PhD student Ferdouse Asefi recently co-authored an op-ed published by The Star, entitled “Indigenous peoples will continue to suffer under Liberal minority.” The article examines how the promises and commitments made to Indigenous peoples have often been unfulfilled and casts doubt on the Liberals’ likelihood of prioritizing reconciliation during its next term. Ferdous Asefi is … Read More

Ph.D. Candidate Merin Oleschuk research on “foodies” in Toronto was featured in an article by Eater, entitled, “What Does ‘Authenticity’ in Food Mean in 2019?” The article claims that ‘authenticity’ in food “still matters, but its definition isn’t as simple as it used to be” because of the rising awareness of racial inequalities in its … Read More

PhD candidate Anson Au recently wrote an op-ed published by South China Morning Post, entitled “K-pop deaths show East Asia must end the stigma, and the solitude, that surrounds mental health.” The op-ed discusses the deaths of Korean pop stars Goo Hara and Sulli and the stigma surrounding mental health in East Asia. He argues … Read More

The Faculty of Arts and Science recently profiled Professor Sharla Alegria’s research on the tech sector.  Focusing partly on Professor Alegria’s recently published in article in Gender & Society, the article also speaks broadly about Alegria’s passion for her research in the sociology of work. Sharla Alegria is an assistant professor of sociology at the … Read More

Professor Jerry Flores recently discussed his investigation into murdered and missing Indigenous women in Canada with the University of Toronto, Mississauga News. Professor Flores is working with local organizations to gather stories from Indigenous women on why they left home and the challenges they face in the city. His research contributes to the ongoing discussion … Read More

Ph.D. Candidate Merin Oleschuk has published an article in Gender and Society, entitled “Gender, Cultural Schemas and Learning to Cook.” The article looks to the experience of learning to cook to understand persistent gender inequalities in family cooking. Merin Oleschuk’s research and teaching areas involve the sociology of food; consumption and consumer culture; sociology of health; sociology … Read More

Ph.D. Candidate Patricia Louie has published an article in the Journal of Society and Mental Health, entitled “Revisiting the Cost of Skin Color: Discrimination, Mastery, and Mental Health among Black Adolescents.” This study aims to investigate whether there are significant associations between skin tone and depression in a population of black adolescents. In particular, Louie … Read More

Ph.D. Candidate Amanda Couture-Carron, in collaboration with Professor Nawal Ammar, Professor Shahid Alvi and Jaclyn San Antonio published an article in Violence Against Women, entitled “Experiences of Muslim and Non-Muslim battered immigrant women with the police in the United States: A closer understanding of commonalities and differences.” The article aims to fill the gap in knowledge concerning … Read More

Ph.D. Candidate James Braun published an article in Nations and Nationalism entitled “The strange case of ‘John Black’ and ‘Mr Hyde’: constructing migrating Jamaicans as (un)worthy nationals.”  The article uses content analysis to understand the moral constructions within Jamaica of diasporic Jamaicans. We have posted the citation and the abstract of the article below. Braun, … Read More

PhD Graduate Maria Majerski has published an article in The Sociological Quarterly that examines the earning of immigrant and native-born men in Canada. The article demonstrates that while immigrants have higher levels of education, they still earn less than native-born Canadians due to the effects of human capital and visible minority status. Maria Majerski has successfully … Read More

Ph.D. Candidates Gabriel Menard and Melissa Godbout, in collaboration with Professor Robert Brym, and PhD graduates Andreas Hoffbauer, and Tony Huiquan Zhang, have published an article in The British Journal of Sociology, entitled “Social media in the 2011 Egyptian uprising.” The article examines the role of new electronic communications media in the 2011 Egyptian uprising. … Read More

Ph.D. Candidate Jean-François Nault has published an article in Études d’histoire religieuse, entitled “Le choix de l’école catholique de langue française en Ontario : mutations du rapport identitaire des Franco-Ontariens au catholicisme.” The article examines the cultural and identity ties Franco-Ontarians have with Catholicism in the schooling context. Jean-François Nault is a Ph.D. Candidate at … Read More

Ph.D. Graduate M. Omar Faruque published an article in Asian Journal of Political Science, entitled “Mining and Subaltern Politics: Political Struggle against Neoliberal Development in Bangladesh.” The article examines  Bangladeshi resistance to a multinational coal mining company. Omar Faruque received his Ph.D. in June 2019. He successfully defended his dissertation entitled, Mining Capitalism and Contentious … Read More

Ph.D. Candidate Chang Z. Lin, co-authored and published an article in the Canadian Journal of Communication, entitled, “Aging with Technology: Seniors and Mobile Connections.” The article investigates seniors’ use of mobile technology with a sample in East York. He finds a persistent generational digital divide, with seniors lagging behind other age groups in adopting mobile devices. Chang … Read More

Ph.D. Candidate Marie-Lise Drapeau-Bisson recently published an article in the journal Irish Political Studies, entitled, “Beyond green and orange: the alliance for choice – Derry’s mobilization for the decriminalization of abortion.” The article explores the ways in which restrictions on activists for the decriminalization of abortion in Derry affected the activists’ strategies. Marie-Lise Drapeau-Bisson is a … Read More

Professor Scott Schieman recently co-authored a piece entitled, “Workers in the gig economy feel lonely and powerless,”  in The Conversation. The article discusses  findings from a study that Schieman conducted with co-investigators Professor Paul Glavin from McMaster University, and Professor Alex Bierman from the University of Calgary. Based on a survey of over 2,000 working … Read More

Professor Chris Smith’s newly published book, “Syndicate Women,” illuminates the blind spot created by women’s erasure from organized crime history.  The book details the organizational change around gender and power that occurred in Chicago in the early 1900s, providing an insightful lens for exploring the social processes that these women navigated within the criminal economies … Read More

Ph.D. Graduate Kat Kolar in collaboration with Professor Farah Ahmad, Linda Chan, and Professor Patricia Erickson, published an article in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods, entitled “Timeline Mapping in Qualitative Interviews: A Study of Resilience with Marginalized Groups.” The study contributes to the literature on visual methods. It does so by providing an analysis of … Read More

Congratulations to Anson Au for the honourable mention he received for the Best Paper Award in the Sociological Quarterly. His paper, entitled, “Reconceptualizing Social Movements and Power: Towards a Social Ecological Approach”, is a study that attempts to move the study of social movements towards a new social ecological approach. Anson Au is currently a Ph.D. … Read More

Recent PhD graduate Lawrence Williams has published an article in Frontiers in Sociology entitled, “How Career Identity Shapes the Meaning of Work for Referred Employees.” The article dismantles previous sociological explanations surrounding the phenomenon of referred employees having longer tenures than non-referred employees. Within the study, the author demonstrates how career plans or career identity … Read More