Graduate Supervisors
Meet Our Supervisors
The Department of Sociology is home to many faculty members available to supervise graduate students in a variety of specializations.
Sociology of Work & Occupations
Discover the structure and process of work and occupations in modern society. This topic engages with theoretical and empirical work that addresses the study of changing economies, forms of inequality and the social organization and structure of work.
Paul Glavin
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Associate Professor, Social Psychology
Associate Chair, Sociology
Geraldina Polanco
PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Labour Studies
Associate Professor, Sociology
Marisa Young
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Adjunct & Associate Member, Health, Aging & Society
Graduate Chair, Sociology
Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Work-Life Transitions
Race, Ethnicity & Immigration
Study how racial, ethnic and national identities are constructed and enacted. This research area employs multiple theoretical frameworks to explore racism, intersectionality and colonialism with a particular interest in Canadian public discourse including multiculturalism and Indigenous-settler relations.
Jeffrey Denis
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Associate Professor, Social Psychology
Anne-Marie Livingstone
PhD
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Karen Robson
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Youth
Lina Samuel
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Undergraduate Chair, Sociology
Vanessa Watts
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Associate Professor, Indigenous Studies
Paul R. MacPherson Chair in Indigenous Studies
Member, McMaster Indigenous Research Institute (MIRI)
Acting Chair, Indigenous Studies
Gender, Sexuality & Family
Investigate the ways in which gender, sexuality and family relationships shape individuals’ experiences and are, in turn, shaped by broader structural forces like the nation-state and globalization. This topic studies gender relations and inequalities and their link to race, ethnicity, citizenship and class.
Tina Fetner
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Department Chair, Sociology
Paul Glavin
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Associate Professor, Social Psychology
Associate Chair, Sociology
Melanie Heath
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Associate Dean, Graduate Studies, Office of the Associate Dean
Adjunct & Associate Member, Institute on Globalization & the Human Condition
Lina Samuel
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Undergraduate Chair, Sociology
Vanessa Watts
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Associate Professor, Indigenous Studies
Paul R. MacPherson Chair in Indigenous Studies
Member, McMaster Indigenous Research Institute (MIRI)
Acting Chair, Indigenous Studies
Marisa Young
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Adjunct & Associate Member, Health, Aging & Society
Graduate Chair, Sociology
Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Work-Life Transitions
Political Sociology, Social Movements & Social Policy
Explore the nature, dynamics and interacting influences of culture, politics, protest movements, electoral institutions and policy options using both theoretical and methodological approaches.
Tina Fetner
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Department Chair, Sociology
Melanie Heath
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Associate Dean, Graduate Studies, Office of the Associate Dean
Adjunct & Associate Member, Institute on Globalization & the Human Condition
Zhifan Luo
PhD
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Assistant Professor, Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement
Anne-Marie Livingstone
PhD
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Social Psychology
Focus on self-conceptions and identity and the ways that social structure and culture shape emotions, social cognition, the negotiation of meaning in everyday life, small group dynamics, as well as the personal consequences of social inequality.
Luca Berardi
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Assistant Professor, Social Psychology
Jeffrey Denis
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Associate Professor, Social Psychology
Paul Glavin
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Associate Professor, Social Psychology
Associate Chair, Sociology
Marisa Young
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Adjunct & Associate Member, Health, Aging & Society
Graduate Chair, Sociology
Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Work-Life Transitions
Social Inequality
What are the causes and consequences of social inequality? The study of social inequality brings together work in health, education, incomes, gender and sexuality, families, race and ethnicity, organizations and meaning-making to uncover the ways that inequality impacts society and the lives of individuals.
Zhifan Luo
PhD
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Assistant Professor, Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement
Karen Robson
PhD
Professor, Sociology
Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Youth
Lina Samuel
PhD
Associate Professor, Sociology
Undergraduate Chair, Sociology
Information Box Group
Research in Sociology Explore Our Research
The Department of Sociology has a dynamic research program. Our areas of strength cluster around the following themes:
- Gender, Sexuality and Family
- Social Psychology and Mental Health
- Race, Ethnicity and Immigration
- Political Sociology and Social Movements
- Work and Occupations