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Research in the Department of Sociology

Faculty within the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick concentrate on studying social structures, social relationships, and social change. We also focus on the changing nature of the discipline of Sociology itself. This emphasis recognizes that the past has given us a sound history of useful theoretical constructs and appropriate methodological designs and techniques. On-going research in the department reflects that a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research strategies is critical to our continued growth as a discipline and as a department. Our theoretic and methodological traditions are open to new epistemological perspectives where we explore new avenues for productive research and teaching.

Within the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick, our shared avenues or pillars of research strength are the study of: multimedia and communication; family and domestic violence, as well as health, healthcare, and health policy. Our specializations in each of these areas maintain and augment the strengths of our undergraduate and graduate programs. Faculty members have affiliations with many of the research institutes at UNB including the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, the Canadian Institute for Social Policy (CRISP) and the National Research Council (NRC). In addition, faculty members working within each of these areas have established relationships with researchers in other departments and faculties at the University of New Brunswick and throughout the world. Moreover, each of these areas offers rich, new opportunities for the development of new relationships within the local, national, and international world of scholarship. Our research pillars carry the strength of our past and open the Department of Sociology to the new opportunities of tomorrow.

The faculty member areas of research specialization listed below provide prospective students with a sense of the range of topics on which Department members can most effectively supervise thesis work. You may access more detailed information on the interests and research experience of individual faculty members by clicking on any of the faculty names below.

Fredericton Faculty

Gary Bowden: Environmental sociology; cross cultural sociology; sociology of science and technology; sociology of the media and photography; sociology of organizations.

Carmen Gill: The family, social policy, third sector studies, and violence against women.

Jennie Hornosty: Health and illness; sociological theory; sociology of women and gender.

Hugh Lautard: Sociology of work and leisure; occupations; population and demography.

Jacqueline Low: Health, health care and health policy; alternative and complementary therapy; chronic illness and disability; deviance and stigma management; sociology of the body; qualitative research methods; symbolic interactionist theory. 

Nancy Nason-Clark: Sociology of religion, research methods, sociology of gender, violence in the family; religion and violence.

Linda Neilson: Conflict resolution, family law, domestic violence, and the sociology of law.

David Rehorick (Professor Emeritus): Social phenomenology, educational praxis, sociological theory, health sciences, creative arts.

Vanda Rideout: Communications in society; culture and media; multimedia policy; Sociology of information and communication technology; political sociology; research design.

Isher-Paul Sahni: Clasical and contemporary sociological theory.

Luc Thériault: Social policy and third sector studies; health care policy; social economy organizations involved in the delivery of human services, including co-operatives. 

Lucia Tremonte: Quantitative analysis, socio-economic segregation; family resources; physical & mental health; children’s outcomes; anxiety and depression; comparative education; school achievement; longitudinal data; cross-sectional data; and multilevel modeling.

Will van den Hoonaard (Professor Emeritus): Qualitative and ethnographic research; research ethics; the Baha’i community; the world of mapmakers.

Lawrence J. Wisniewski: Sociology of aging, death, and dying; sociology of youth; sociology of deviant behaviour.

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Saint John Faculty

Janet Burns: Social theory; cultural studies; modern and postmodern art forms.

Lee Chalmers: Gender relations; sociology of work; research methods.

Chris Doran: Textual analysis, socio-legal studies, and historical sociology; ethnomethodology; critical theory.

Daniel Downes: Media and technology; information and society; history of communication technologies; cultural diversity; intellectual property and copyright.

Ricardo Duchesne: The making of western civilization.

Joe Galbo: Media studies and McLuhan studies; cultural studies: politics and culture, popular culture, and Canadian culture; critical theory.

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Adjunct Professors

Deborah Harrison: Feminist theory and symbolic interactionist theory; military families; qualitative research methods.

Kathleen Kufeldt: Child welfare.

Susan O’Donnell: Digital communications, the electronic public sphere, democratic citizen and social movements in the information society.

Andrew Reddick: Media and communications.

Susan Reid: Criminology and Criminal Justice; Young Offenders; Victimology; Child and Youth Rights; Youth Justice Policy . 

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Honorary Research Associates

Robert Ameh: Development studies and human rights.

Colm Kelly: Deconstructionism, ethnomethodology, sociological theory.

Gary Kenyon: Gerontology and narrative analysis.

Michèle Martin: Historical sociology of technological development, political economy of communication, and socio-cultural analysis of the media.

Chris McCormick: Sociological theory

Rod Michalko: Disability, human rights.

William Randall: Biographical aging, wisdom, reminiscence, lifestories, longitudinal studies of aging, narrative gerontology, narrative psychology, learning in later life, autobiographical learning, human services in rural communities.

Marilee Reimer: Transition from university to career for undergraduate women, academic
freedom in the corporate university.

Jim Sacouman: Social movements, social theory, work, Marxist analysis.

Andy Scott Social policy.

Tanya Titchkosky: Deviance, disability, socialization.

Deborah van den Hoonaard: Gerontology.

Douglas Willms: Childhood development, monitoring systems, national and international assessment, program evaluation, research design, school effectiveness, social policy statistical modelling.

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Postdoctoral Fellows

Barbara Fisher-Townsend working with Dr Nancy Nason-Clark, on The Religion and Violence e-Learning (RAVE) Project. Dr Fisher-Townsend’s PhD thesis is entitled. Changing Violent Religious Men: The Intersection of the Criminal Justice System, Batterer’s Intervention Programs, and Faith-Based Services and Supports.

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