Research Themes

Sociology PhD Student Jillian Sunderland and an SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier scholar at the University of Toronto was recently interviewed by Dalainey Gervais from ‘The Medium’. Sunderland was interviewed on her both her research and personal experience regarding social media, platform use, activism, and the separation of activism and corporate capitalism. The full article is available … Read More

PhD student Miloš Broćić and Professor Dan Silver have recently published an article on the reception of Georg Simmel in the Annual Review of Sociology. The article explores the importance of Simmel’s work for urban and conflict studies since 1975. Miloš Broćić is a doctoral candidate in the department of Sociology. He is currently completing … Read More

PhD student Kayla Preston recently published an article on The Conversation. A political sociologist studying de-radicalization, Kayla wrote about the threat of far right groups in Canada and their potential impact on the federal election. We have included an excerpt of the article below. The full article is available at The Conversation’s website. With far … Read More

Professor Scott Schieman and PhD Candidate Phil Badawy recently wrote an op ed in the Toronto Star. Based on their research interviewing Canadian workers, the op ed highlights some of the challenges of remote work. Professor Schieman has ongoing SSHRC-funded research exploring work-life balance and employment satisfaction in Canada. Phil Badawy is currently writing his … Read More

Professor Jack Veugelers’ new book recently received this year’s ASA Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Book Award in the Political Sociology section. The book is titled “Empire’s Legacy: Roots of a Far-Right Affinity in Contemporary France.” Professor Jack Veugelers is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on right-wing extremism and … Read More

Congratulations to Professor Tahseen Shams for winning the 2021 ASA International Migration Section’s Thomas and Znaniecki Award for her book, “Here, There, and Elsewhere: The Making of Immigrant Identities in a Globalized World!” The Thomas and Znaniecki book award is given annually to a book published within the previous two years for its “outstanding social … Read More

Professor Joe Hermer recently published an article titled “Homeless encampment violence in Toronto betrays any real hope for police reform” on The Conversation. The piece argues that when police officers forcibly and violently demolished homeless encampments in parks across Toronto they broke a trust with the public that they had committed to repairing just a few … Read More

Professor Ito Peng received news earlier this spring that she has received funding for a second large partnership project. This project, called “Care Economies in Context: Towards Sustainable Social and Economic Development,” pulls together research teams from eight different countries and has funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), The William and … Read More

Professor Tahseen Shams has recently begun a new research project titled “Race, Religion, and Romance: A Comparative Study of Interracial and Interfaith Unions in Canada and the United States Using the Case of South Asian Muslim Immigrants.” The project, that was recently funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant, seeks to  “understand the personal, social, and … Read More

Congratulations to Professor Jerry Flores and Professor Weiguo Zhang who have recently received funding from the University of Toronto, Mississauga for their upcoming research projects. This funding is administered by UTM’s new initiative “Black, Indigenous, and Racialized Scholar/Research Grant Program“. The purpose of this program is to support research projects that address racial inequity, the … Read More

Professor Joe Hermer was recently featured in an episode titled “Clearing Homeless Encampments: Tensions Overflow in Trinity Bellwoods” by The Agenda, TVO. Professor Hermer, outreach worker Lorraine Lam, and mayor Michael Thompson weighed in with their thoughts regarding the recent incident at Trinity Bellwoods. In June, the police and security dismantled the homeless encampment at … Read More

Professor Jooyoung Lee was recently featured on CNN in a report titled: “Gun Violence Epidemic: Why Canada’s Gun Violence is Fraction of US”. Over the 4th of July weekend, there were hundreds of shootings in the US, including three mass shootings. These events have led to rising concerns over the US’ lenient gun laws and … Read More

PhD student Kayla Preston recently published an article titled “The Black Pill: New Technology and the Male Supremacy of Involuntary Celibate Men” in the journal of Men and Masculinities. This article examines the arguments that heterosexual incel men make regarding their attempts in finding a partner. Kayla and her co-authors collected data by qualitatively analyzing 9,062 comments … Read More

Professor Ellen Berrey was recently featured in an article titled “What Is Critical Race Theory and Why Are Some People So Mad at It?” by Snopes. Over the past few months, Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become a topic that sparks heated debates among members of different political parties. In this article, Professor Berrey weighs in … Read More

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah’s research on anti-Black racism was recently featured in multiple news sources including U of T News, CTV News, CBC News, and CityNews.  On U of T and CTV News, Professor Owusu-Bempah shares his finding that young Black men in Ontario are not only “starkly overrepresented” in the prison system, but also spend a lengthier … Read More

Congratulations to Professor Tahseen Shams, recipient of the 2021 Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) Early Investigator Award! This award is presented to a sociologist who has made significant contributions to the research community in the early stages of their career. The adjudication committee was impressed by the outstanding quality, theoretical rigour, and methodological innovation of Professor … Read More

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah was recently featured in an article titled “New data provides a rare glimpse at ‘substantial’ Black overrepresentation in Ontario’s jails” in the Toronto Star.  Although Black overrepresentation in jails is primarily associated with the US, Professor Owusu-Bempah explains in this article that it is a prevalent issue in Canada as well. In Ontario, … Read More

  Congratulations to Professor Patricia Louie, winner of this year’s Outstanding Graduating Sociology Student, PhD Award! This award was created by the Canadian Sociological Association in 2013 to help Sociology Departments recognize their top graduating students. During her time at the University of Toronto, Professor Louie made significant contributions to the research community. She published … Read More

PhD student Andy Holmes recently published a research article titled “Marching with Pride? Debates on Uniformed Police Participating in Vancouver’s LGBTQ Pride Parade” in the Journal of Homosexuality. The article examines the controversy surrounding police presence at Pride parades. Andy collected data by conducting twelve in-depth interviews with participants of differing opinions. Half of the … Read More

Professor Jooyoung Lee was recently featured as a commentator in the new true-crime documentary “Catching A Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur”. Bruce McArthur is known as one of Toronto’s most infamous serial killers who preyed on gay men. Professor Lee explains that McArthur didn’t fit into the stereotypical image of a serial killer. Using his lifestyle … Read More