"I have wanted to look at what is wrong with society as well as what is right; to look at the way old established structures of a society broke down as well as the way new structures came into being. In a word, the interest has been in the problem of change rather than in the problem of order." - S.D. Clark
S.D. Clark was the first chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto and a key figure in establishing the discipline of sociology in Canada.
In the fifth annual S.D. Clark Symposium, Professor David Williams will present an overview of persistent socioeconomic and racial/ethnic health disparities. The presentation will highlight scientific evidence linking distinct social exposures to racial status and the role of policies in creating health inequities. It will emphasize how one's location significantly impacts access to opportunities and how the accumulation of various stressors, including discrimination, adversely affects physical and mental health. The presentation will also explore interventions to enhance medical care, reduce stress, and mitigate health effects, while improving job opportunities, housing, and neighborhood conditions to eliminate racial/ethnic health gaps.
The S.D. Clark Symposium on the Future of Canadian Society honours his memory by bringing together top social scientists both from the University of Toronto and elsewhere around the world to discuss issues of importance for Canada. The 2018 S.D. Clark Symposium on the Future of Canadian Society will be the fourth annual symposium. Contributors include Robert Brym, Howard Ramos, Catherine Corrigall-Brown, Lesley Wood, and Tina Fetter, with Anna Slavina serving as the discussant. The Proceedings of the first three symposia have been published by Rock's Mills Press and are available for purchase using the 
Proceedings Order Form (PDF) or online at the Rock's Mill Press website.
Canadian identity, governmentality, and security are affected by both the permeability and the strengthening of national borders and personal boundaries. In this symposium, leading figures in the study of borders and boundaries—sociologists, political scientists, and geographers—analyze and debate the contested Arctic, the securitization of the Canada/U.S. border, and the Internet’s threat to personal sovereignty. Participants include John Hannigan, Ron Deibart, Heather Nicol, Klaus Dodds, Alison Mountz, and Emily Gilbert. View poster of the 2017 event (PDF).
“A spectre is haunting Europe and the United States—the spectre of immigration.” So begins Robert Brym’s introduction to the second volume of proceedings of the annual S.D. Clark Symposium. Contributors Richard Alba, Jeffrey G. Reitz, Naomi Lightman, Monica Boyd, Patricia Landolt, and Salina Abji consider the social and political effects and implications of immigration, both from a comparative perspective and with a specific focus on the Canadian experience in the early years of the twenty-first century. The result is a thought-provoking examination of one of the most important issues of our time. View poster of the 2016 event (PDF).
View poster for the 2015 event (PDF).