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Department of Sociology

Current graduate students

PhD students

Name Interests Supervisor
Berard, Ashley My doctoral work examines the impacts of wildfire disasters on rural communities in the Interior of British Columbia. My primary research interests include environmental sociology, sociology of health, and community-engaged sociology. Andre Smith
Block, Kelsey Gender, sexuality, religion, intersectionality, queer theory, christianity, qualitative methods Steve Garlick
Brown, Sydney   Midori Ogasawara
Builes-Morales, David My research explores how emotional experiences and daily interactions shape the social construction of places. Using a micro-sociological lens, I examine how individuals and communities transform institutional spaces into meaningful environments, particularly environments for reconciliation and social transition. My work bridges the sociology of emotions with theories of place-construction to understand lived experiences. Peyman Vahabzadeh
Dehaghani, Medhi Hosseini (INTD) Political sociology and social movements; Civil society, power, and governance; Critical social theory; Political economy and political ecology; Nonmovements and everyday resistance; Urban sociology and everyday life; Digital capitalism and surveillance; Ecological crisis and climate governance. Peyman Vahabzadeh
Deschner, Finn   William Carroll
Fadaei, Iman   Peyman Vahabzadeh
Gumuspala, Sansal My broad research interests include gender, sexuality, immigration, intersectionality, human rights and communication. My PhD research focuses on the migration and settlement experiences of LGBTQ+ newcomers from Türkiye in Canada, specifically examining pre-arrival expectations, integration processes, belonging, identity expression, and access to settlement services using community-engaged qualitative methods. Aaron Devor
Kaveh Shaldehi, Sajjad   Aaron Devor
Kish, Nyki   Tamara Humphrey
Kostuchuk, Jen   Anelyse Weiler
Lapp, Chris My research interests focus on transfeminism. In my PhD, I aim to explore queer and trans affects and practices of care in relation to nature. I am also interested in Marxism, feminist philosophy of science, new materialism, and affect theory. Steve Garlick
Malalla, Sahr   Midori Ogasawara
Miller, Jason My doctoral research explores the intergenerational dynamics of climate change and youth leadership/narrative strategy in Canada's climate justice movement. My broader interests include capitalism, media, and sports - each of which I teach a course on. William Carroll
Padam, Jasmine Migration and resettlement; honour-based violence and killings; South Asia and the South Asian diaspora; South Asian feminist theory; intersectional feminism; legal frameworks; public policy; socio-legal issues and justice; qualitative methods. Garry Gray
Rahmati, Hossein   Peyman Vahabzadeh
Rutherford, Leo (INTD)  

Aaron Devor / Nathan Lachowsky
Sadeghi Ronizi, Mohammad  

William Carroll
Sugars-Keen, Neve My research focuses on extractive populism, fossil capital, and the politics of climate denial in Canada and internationally, especially where it intersects with right-wing populist politics and political movements and the common nationalist and capitalist logics behind the two mutually reinforcing ideologies.

William Carroll
Tang, Jay  

Katelin Albert
Vlasov, Pavel Political–economic transitions, Post-Soviet states, Collapse of the USSR, Russian energy sector, Fossil-fuel capitalism, Resource governance, Oil and gas politics, Oligarchic capitalism, Energy geopolitics.

William Carroll
Zinovich, Sasha  

Andre Smith

Master's students

Name Interests Supervisor
Allen, Cas Sports, hockey, masculinity, transgender issues, and gender. Aaron Devor / Garry Gray
Bartley, Kate   Thea Cacchioni
Blondeau, Erin   Peyman Vahabzadeh
Busby, Paige   Andre Smith
de Molitor, Rachel Reproductive aging, gender, health sociology. Katelin Albert
Dunkerson, Adrian Trans joy, queer transmasculinity, t4t, and the intersections of autism and transness. Aaron Devor
Feeley, Caitlin   Tamara Humphrey
Flegg, Conrad    Peyman Vahabzadeh
Fortin, Ethan My research interests focus on the relationship between social change and the environment, specifically with regard to the climate and biodiversity crises. These interests touch on social ecology, environmental justice, Marxist political ecology, community-engaged sociology, and social movements. William Carroll
Garvin, Amanda   Edwin Hodge
Grischow, Sydney Health, abortion, sex, body image, reproductive justice, gender. Thea Cacchioni
Huang, Jindi  

Steve Garlick
Hudson, Maisie Broad research interests: Women’s health, reproductive health, gender, sexuality, the body and embodiment (sociology of the body), pregnancy, birth, menstruation, pain and pain management, pregnancy loss, death and dying, grief and grieving practices, medical sociology, sociology of health and illness, medical and social history. My MA thesis looks at how lived experiences of pregnancy loss can help reconceptualize broader understandings of grief.

Katelin Albert
Lee, Sirun (INTD)

My research examines how digital media censorship and data-driven governance in China shape political communication, public opinion, and everyday life. I am especially interested in the interaction between automated content control, human censors, and citizens’ strategic responses: self-censorship, coded speech, and migration to alternative platforms. More broadly, I ask when information control strengthens authoritarian resilience and when it produces backlash, grievances, or unexpected spaces for critique within tightly managed online environments.

Midori Ogasawara
Lemarquand, Star  

Peyman Vahabzadeh
Maurice, Renay  

 
Phillips, Sydney My research looks at how non-profit organizations navigate funding limits. Steve Garlick
Prewett, Cloud   Sean Hier
Riki, Yaser   Peyman Vahabzadeh 
Rocca, Nia My research interests focus on how digital media shapes women's lived experiences surrounding self-perception, dating, and sexuality through qualitative methods. My master's research explores how women construct new sexual scripts online through two opposing trends: 'Hot Girl Summer' and voluntary celibacy. Through examining these trends, this research aims to shed light on how digital platforms shape women’s efforts to navigate, challenge, and redefine sexual identity and autonomy within a rapidly evolving cultural and technological landscape. Thea Cacchioni
Thon, Hannah  

Athena Madan