Research Themes

Congratulations to Professor Tahseen Shams who recently received an honourable mention from the Global and Transnational Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA) for her scholarly article titled “Successful yet Precarious: South Asian Muslim Americans, Islamophobia, and the Model Minority Myth” in Sociological Perspectives. Professor Shams received the honourable mention for her excellence of … Read More

Congratulations to Professor Sharla Alegria who recently received the Outstanding Article Award in her co-authored scholarly article titled “Gender Pay Gaps in US Federal Science Agencies: An Organizational Approach” in the American Journal of Sociology. This award honours scholarly articles with excellence of writing and discussion in a sociological topic. Professor Alegria, alongside co-authors Laurel … Read More

Congratulations to recent PhD graduate Atsushi Narisada who recently received the Best Dissertation Award for his thesis titled “The Social Antecedents and Consequences of the Sense of Distributive Justice.” This award honours dissertations with excellence of writing and discussion in a sociological topic in the Sociology of Mental Health section in the American Sociological Association … Read More

Professor Joseph Hermer recently launched a website for a rapid response research initiative on policing and homelessness during the COVID-19. The initiative is funded by the Toronto COVID-19 Action Fund at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. In the following eight months, Professor Hermer and his research team will examine ways in which people experience homelessness … Read More

Professor Ito Peng recently spoke to Global News about racism and its implications when being framed as a public health issue. While beneficial for raising awareness, Professor Peng argues that framing racism as a health issue limits the scope of its both its roots and the work needed for society to dismantle racist systems of … Read More

Professor Judith Taylor recently wrote an op ed in The Toronto Star discussing white men and their violence. Judith Taylor is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, with teaching responsibilities on the St. George campus. Her research focuses on the intersection of feminist activism, community organizations, and social changes within public … Read More

Professor Jennifer Adese recently appeared on an episode of UT Mississauga (UTM)’s View to the U: An eye to UTM research Podcast to discuss about her current research on Métis women and their representation within a Canadian context. She also discusses racism and oppression as well as what it means to be an ally for … Read More

Professor Jooyoung Lee recently spoke to CBC News about anti-Black racism in immigrant communities.  He spoke of his own experience as a Korean American in Southern California who studied hip hop culture. Professor Lee is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto with teaching responsibilities on the St. George campus. He is … Read More

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah recently spoke to CTV News about what it means to defund the police as a way to end violent policing amongst Black communities. Professor Owusu-Bempah explained that defunding the police does not necessarily mean eliminating the police force. Instead, it means to reallocate and redistribute some of their funds to important agencies … Read More

Professor Julius Haag recently appeared on The New Normal with Maydianne Andrade, a weekly podcast. Professor Haag appeared, alongside Mark Campbell, on Part I of ‘Enough’ – a two-part episode to discuss the impacts of systematic anti-Black racism. He explains how the rise of violent policing and criminalization relates to the health-care system as well … Read More

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah recently appeared on an episode of The Agenda with Steve Paikin alongside Sandy Hudson, Kike Ojo-Thompson, and Roger Dundas to discuss solutions to stop anti-Black racism and systematic discrimination on a large scale. Professor Owusu-Bampah compares structural racism in the US and Canada, emphasizing the political sphere of racism in both countries. … Read More

Professor Scott Schieman  recently spoke to U of T News about his research on the impact of work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Schieman’s recently funded project will build on work he had already begun tracking the changing work and family lives of Canadians. The work will now, however, include a study of the impact … Read More

Professor Ito Peng recently wrote an article for Policy Options, the newsletter of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). In it, she discusses the lessons that Canada can gain from studying long-term care schemes in Japan, Korea and Germany. She argues that the implementation of public insurance plans and strong regulations to support … Read More

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah recently spoke to the Toronto Star about the movement to defund police in favour of community organizations  especially in the cases of mental health calls. We have included an excerpt of the article below. Professor Owusu-Bempah is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, with teaching responsibilities at the … Read More

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah spoke to Mugglehead News in response to US House of Representatives suggesting that the War on Drugs was responsible for increases in police violence, particularly against Black people. While the US resolution called for greater accountability, Professor Owusu-Bempah argued that reducing the funding and scope of responsibilities of the police would more … Read More

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah recently contributed to a Policy Options podcast entitled “Cannabis and the Criminalization of Black Canadians.” Policy Options is an online newsletter sponsored by the Institute for Public Policy Research.  It airs podcasts every second Wednesday. Professor Owusu-Bempah is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. he has teaching responsibilities … Read More

PhD Candidate Anelyse Weiler will be joining the University of Victoria’s Department of Sociology as an Assistant Professor. Before her new position begins in July, she will be defending her dissertation on 12 June. Supervised by Josée Johnston with committee members Hannah Wittman (UBC) and Jennifer Chun, her dissertation is entitled, The Periphery in the … Read More

Congratulations to PhD Candidate Taylor Price who recently learned that his submission to the SSHRC Storytellers Competition has been named one of the finalists for 2021. The annual SSHRC Storytellers Competition provides a venue for post-secondary students to showcase their SSHRC-funded research by presenting a 3 minute video or audoclip. The top 25 candidates receive … Read More

Professor Joe Hermer has recently co-authored an article in The Conversation discussing the need to protect the homeless during the pandemic. The article warns that police enforcing Ontario’s Safe Streets Act that targets homeless people will put them in danger, not only with the law, but also risk spreading the pandemic. Professor Hermer is an … Read More

Many of the Faculty in the Sociology Department have recently adjusted their research to address issues arising as a result of COVID-19 as well as the social distancing and economic shutdown that have been put in place to contain the pandemic. Four sociology faculty members have recently had their projects funded by the Toronto COVID-19 … Read More