Department of Sociology

My research examines mental health within the context of the neoliberal restructuring of work and cuts to public funding around health care, social assistance, and education. I examine experiences of stress, worry, and struggle within the political context of economic crisis. I teach from a critical perspective and currently sit on the editorial board of Alternate Routes: A Journal of Critical Social Research (www.alternateroutes.ca). In my commitment to social justice and praxis, I have been involved with community activism and labour solidarity projects across the country and around the world.

Credentials:
PhD, Sociology with a specialization in Political Economy, Carleton University
MA, Social Justice and Equity Studies, Brock University
BA (Hons), Psychology, Bishop's University

I am a critical sociologist, interested in understanding how and why garment worker rights are compromised across the global fashion and apparel industry. Most recently, my work has focused on the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh, where more than 1,000 workers were killed making everyday clothing items for consumers in North American and European markets. In 2009 I founded Social Alterations, an online education lab for responsible fashion. I have published my research in peer-reviewed journals, such as Fashion Theory and Dialogues in Human Geography.

Credentials:
PhD, Sociology, University of Edinburgh
Master of Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies, Athabasca University
Bachelor of Arts, International Development Studies and Spanish, Dalhousie University
Diploma, Textile Arts, Capilano University

Personal website

I joined Okanagan College in 2012. Here, I teach Introduction to Sociology 1&2, Statistical Analysis in Sociology, Sex, Gender, and Society, and Sociology of Sexualities. I am a feminist, anti-racist, critical and historical sociologist. My past research focused on the Chinese Rescue Home in Victoria, BC. My current research focus is on the multi-generatonal cultural effects of the Japanese Canadian Internment. When I am not teaching or working on my research, I am most likely getting my hands dirty at the pottery studio.

Credentials:
PhD, Sociology, University of British Columbia
MA, Sociology, University of British Columbia
BA, Sociology, Okanagan University College

Google Scholar Profile

I am an activist and criminologist who joined Okanagan College in 2010. I teach sociology, criminology and gender studies classes in Vernon and Salmon Arm. I operate the only open-access, virtual library of Canadian prisoner-generated materials (www.penalpress.com) and have used these materials to co-author a book (with Prof. Clarkson, History department) on early penal reform in Canada. My areas of expertise are the effects of long-term imprisonment, penology, parole, and the rehabilitation & reintegration of prisoners. When not teaching or doing other professorial things, I travel to prisons to work with convicts, their support people and community agencies.

Credentials:
PhD, Criminology, University of Ottawa
MEd, Counselling, University of Northern BC
B.Soc.Sc, Criminology, University of Ottawa

www.penalpress.com