St. Thomas University - Sociology

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2026 Sociology Fourth-Year Prizes: Ayla Davidson (Honours), Lee Gauvin (Honours), and Elizabeth Cooper (Major). We are proud to recognize your outstanding academic accomplishments, hard work, and success, and we wish each of you continued success in your future endeavours.

A heartfelt congratulations as well to the entire Sociology graduating class of 2026, and to all graduates marking this important milestone. Your dedication, perseverance, and achievements are truly commendable, and we wish you all the very best in the journeys ahead.

Sociology professor Kristi Allain and student research assistant Madison Bird presented their work on the ways plogging (picking up litter while walking/jogging/running) generates social divides at the Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health international conference in Toronto, ON last week . It was a great learning experience for both! They are happy to report that their paper was well received by conference goers with many in attendance and lots of provocative questions.

You are welcome to join us to hear STU Sociologist speak on masculinity and hockey violence.

On April 8 at 6:30 PM, please join us in James Dunn Hall at St. Thomas University for a panel discussion held in collaboration with the White Ribbon Fredericton and St. Thomas University - Sociology titled The Gendered Arena: Masculinity, Competition, and Violence Across Sports.

This panel discussion hopes to explore important topics surrounding masculinity, competition, and violence that are seen across sports with Dr. Kristi Allain (St. Thomas University, keynote), Curtis Lauzon (Performance Coach for Rugby NB), Beth Lyons (New Brunswick Women's Council), and Kendra Patrick (former high-performance athlete). The panelists will dive deeper on how these topics permeate sport at all levels: men's and women's sports, recreation, professional, younger players, older players, and more. We hope to see you there! 💜

Looking for a thought provoking second-year course? Why not try Sociology of the Family – SOCI 2633. This course will be taught by Dr. Matthew Hayes where he asks, Can Family Ever Be Fun Again?

Is your family coming to the cottage? How do you feel about that?

The family is where we become social and begin to learn about how to fit into social groups. But what is a family? Who gets to have one, and under what conditions? This class addresses the social forces transforming the families we live with—our own, and those of others both near and far. It also looks at how the families we desire are changing. Families as we currently live them—even ‘traditional’ families—are thoroughly modern, caught up in the transformation of society brought about by European imperialism and global capitalist industrialization. Families are rife with power dynamics that are social, as well as personal. The modern family—both the heteronormative variety, and the increasingly important ‘chosen family’—is a museum we have barely begun to explore. We’ll look at the transformation of intimacy and family form, as well as how these transformations have generated new responses that cut across different social divides, such as gender, class, and sexuality.

Looking for an engaging and timely course for next year?

Dr. Matthew Hayes is offering Soci 4013, Senior Seminar, on The Sociology of Housing.

This seminar offers a critical assessment of Canada’s affordable housing crisis. We are living through a profound transformation of how capitalist firms organize the housing market, and it is essential to understand some of its fundamentals in order to get a better grasp of how governments at multiple levels should react. The seminar will provide a historical overview of housing development in Canada, with a focus on how housing is financed, and how that has changed over time. Our approach will be data-driven: you will learn about key data sets, how that data is produced, and what statistical data about housing tells us. We will focus on some key trends, especially the rapid disappearance of affordable market housing over the last two decades (just the last 6 or 7 years in NB). You will also learn about solutions to our affordable housing crisis—past and present—as well as what social movements are doing to organize and intervene to defend their interests. Landlords have successfully lobbied for a more privatized housing system. Tenants and lower-income groups are now organizing to protect their housing futures.

Thinking about your next elective course?

Dr. Gül Çalışkan is offering a timely and exciting course: SOCI-3583: Research for Social Change.

Check out the description below.

This course has no prerequisites and is open to all students.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Dr. Gül directly at [email protected].

Dr. Gül says, “We might not discuss Heated Rivalry. You might not be coming to cottage. But I hope the course will spark as much joy as the series did!" 😁

SOCI-3583: Research for Social Change: Reimagining Research for Community and Change in an Uncertain World

“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.” — Gramsci (1930)

Today, this sense of disruption resonates more than ever, as familiar structures of knowledge, truth, and authority continue to unravel. What if research could help shape what comes next?
In this course, we rethink sociological research in an era shaped by AI, post-truth dynamics, and evolving forms of knowledge, centering communities as active participants in making sense of these changes.

In this course, we will:

- Explore foundational texts alongside the latest work on research methods for social change and community-led inquiry
- Reflect on our role as an ethical, accountable researcher in uncertain times
- Co-design a mini-project with campus communities (e.g., sustainability mapping, student well-being audits, cultural storytelling, or accessibility assessments)
- Lead discussions, gather insights, and connect practice to theory

Through seminar discussions and hands-on projects, we will explore what research needs to be today, and imagine it as a tool for community-led solutions and meaningful social change.
By the end of the course, you will begin to see research everywhere: not just as an academic exercise, but as a vital way of understanding and navigating a world still in the process of becoming.

We look forward to seeing you there!

NEW COURSE ALERT:

This year STU Sociology will offer a brand new course SOCI 2133 "Hockey and Society." Taught by Dr. Kristi Allain, will help students think sociologically, while giving them an interesting and engaging focus (i.e., ice hockey) to which they can apply their understanding of how to “do sociology.”

Hockey provides an interesting case study to aid students in their thinking about social life and social issues. In its dominant presentation, hockey tells an important story about - and provides a common-sense understanding of particular actors and their significance to - Canadian social life. For example, various social actors use hockey to position straight, white, wealthy, able-bodied men and boys as central to the national imaginary. However, this so-called Canadian identity is not without its real challenges and challengers. In this regard, guiding students through a deeper examination of hockey - one that includes hockey’s many ‘others’ - helps students understand the workings of culture, nationalism and hegemony, while also exploring social tensions, social issues and social problems.

This course has no pre-requisites and is open to all students.

And yes, we will discuss Heated Rivalry!

Contact Dr. Allain if you'd like more information - [email protected].

Next year's course selections are coming soon, reach out to sociology faculty if you have questions. We're happy to help 😊