Undergraduate Research

Manal Choudhry published an article entitled “Transnational Diplomacy and the Korean Wave” in the third volume of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ). Her work explores the Korean Wave (the global popularity of Korean culture and cultural products) and its use by the South Korean government as a tool on both international and domestic levels. Manal explains … Read More

Vinuja Sritharan authored an article titled “The basketball diaries: A case study of the national basketball association and political repression by China” that was published in the third volume of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ). The article dissects interactions between representatives of the National Basketball Association and China’s governmental authorities during the 2019 Hong Kong … Read More

  Victoria Barclay recently published an article in the third volume of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ) during her 4th year titled “Race, class, and gender: The #MeToo movement & stigma.” In her article, Victoria outlines the ways that race, class, and gender can all intersect to affect stigma associated with the victimization of sexual … Read More

Agha Saadaf published an article entitled “Dawn of the Black Hearts: Contextualising Fascism in Second Wave Norwegian Black Metal” in the third volume of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ). His work explores the historical context of Norwegian cultural power dynamics, the use of music to reflect political ideas, and the “lifestyle” perpetuated by prominent figures … Read More

Ariel Kenny authored two articles in the third volume of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ) published earlier this year. Their article “The family unfriendly city: The impact of public funding cuts against growing demand for child care in Toronto” reviews the child care market in Toronto in the wake of the 2019-2020 provincial budget cuts … Read More

Ariel Kenny published “‘You Gotta Touch Her Again. You Gotta Lick Her Again’: Observing Hegemonic Masculinity in a DIY Punk Dive Bar” in Volume I of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ). The article analyzes how both heterosocial and homosocial interactions may reproduce or subvert hegemonic masculinity in the nightlife of the “do it yourself” (DIY) punk … Read More

The Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ) is a student-run publication that is open to any student enrolled in an undergraduate program at the St. George campus. It covers sociology’s intersecting disciplines that include, but are not limited to, Criminology, Women and Gender Studies, Indigenous Studies, Diaspora and Transnational Studies, and Economics.The previous and inaugural volume explored … Read More

Sofia Jelovac  published an article entitled “Religion and Fandom” in Volume I of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal. Her work explores the parallels between religious form (as outlined by Durkheim) and fandom through a study of the dynamics of Coldplay and the Coldplayer fanbase. By examining the division of the sacred and the profane, within the … Read More

Helen Yang published  “The Seed of Contempt” in Volume I of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ).  Her work explores the emergence, expansion, and effects of the gluten free market. Under this framework, she discusses both the immunological and sociological influences and implications of the gluten-free diet trend. Although celiac disease  only occurs in 1% of … Read More

Jessica Rapson published “The Medicalization of Mental Illness in Canada”in Volume I of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ). Her work examines Marxist conflict theory to understand how mental illness is medicalized through the marketization of health care in Canada. Specifically, the article focuses on how pharmaceutical companies affect mental illness treatments and exacerbate existing mental … Read More

Antonio Scarfone  published an article entitled “The Dark Knight’s Stark Encounters with Provisional Selves and Frame Breaks” in Volume I of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ).  His work examines how individuals must overcome unmet expectations that require strength, adaptation, and perseverance while shaping their identities and careers. Throughout these identity formations, individuals adopt provisional selves … Read More

Julia Li published “Language Revitalization and the Indigenous Youth Suicide Epidemic in Canada: Decolonizing Suicide and Saving Lives through Language” in Volume I of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ). Her work examines the connection between the presence of Indigenous language knowledge and lower rates of Indigenous youth suicides in Canadian communities, and builds on Cwik’s … Read More

Jing Meng (Amy) Bi  published “Are We Moving Toward or Away from Innocence?” in Volume I of the Undergraduate Sociology Journal (USJ).  She reflects on Tuck and Yang’s (2012) work on North American settlers’ attempts to reconcile colonial history and mitigate settler guilt, of which they coined the term “settler moves to innocence.” However, these … Read More