Race, Ethnicity & Migration

Scholars in this area study how racial, ethnic, and national identities are salient and stratifying forces in people’s lives and across societies. Processes of immigration, migration, and colonialism shape racial and ethnic diversity, inequality, and settlement in Canada and other nations. Studies by UBC faculty focus on experiences of migration, settlement, dispossession, and discrimination as well as the ways difference and hierarchy are politically constructed and historically produced. Studies focus on histories of colonial dispossession, the experiences of undocumented and stateless peoples, the lived experiences of racialized refugees settling in Canada, and attitudes toward immigration and political trust among different racial and ethnic groups.

UBC Sociology Undergraduate Research Conference 2022 – Call for Abstracts is Now Open!

UBC Sociology Undergraduate Research Conference 2022 – Call for Abstracts is Now Open!

The Sociology Students’ Association is pleased to invite all undergraduate students to present their works at the Annual Sociology Undergraduate Research Conference.

Isaku Kawamura examines the role of accents as a marker of foreignness in the labour market, examining its intersection with race, class and gender

Isaku Kawamura examines the role of accents as a marker of foreignness in the labour market, examining its intersection with race, class and gender

Fourth-year Honours student Isaku Kawamura’s research studies the experiences of immigrants working in Vancouver, and how non-native accents shape their experiences on the labour market.

Prof. Lauster comments on rise in moves to resort towns such as Squamish across BC as fueled by remote working arrangements

Prof. Lauster comments on rise in moves to resort towns such as Squamish across BC as fueled by remote working arrangements

Prof. Lauster spoke to the Times Colonist on why moves towards resort destinations in BC have spiked to the point of making them the fastest growing communities in the country. On top of this move being fueled by remote working opportunities, Lauster commented on the fact building bylaws in areas like Vancouver have not been updated to allow for more housing stock: “Where you allow new housing to be built is also where you see new population growth.”

Prof. Lauster interviewed by Vancouver is Awesome on city’s recent population decline

Prof. Lauster interviewed by Vancouver is Awesome on city’s recent population decline

Prof. Lauster spoke to Vancouver is Awesome about the city’s recent population decline. Prof. Lauster partly attributed the phenomenon to the Covid-19 pandemic, which both forced young adults to move back home and allowed for newly at-home workers to move out of the central city, towards the suburbs.

Blossom Cheng deconstructs the impacts of the hypersexualization of Asian women in Western media

Blossom Cheng deconstructs the impacts of the hypersexualization of Asian women in Western media

Honours student Blossom Cheng investigates how the hypersexualized construction of Asian women perpetuates a pattern of violence that can be considered the expressive arm of white supremacy and power.

Prof. Yue Qian most recent paper “Child Marriage in Mainland China” published in Studies in Family Planning

Prof. Yue Qian most recent paper “Child Marriage in Mainland China” published in Studies in Family Planning

Prof. Yue Qian’s most recent paper “Child Marriage in Mainland China, published in Studies in Family Planning, used publicly available data from the 2000 and 2010 census to estimate nacional and provincial-level prevalence of child marriage across mainland China.
Results indicate the practice continues across mainland China despite laws prohibiting the practice, with a widening gender gap increasingly drawing attention to the nature child marriage as a threat to gender equality.

Prof. Nathanael Lauster quoted by North Shore News, challenging the claim housing supply has kept up with demand in the Vancouver region

Prof. Nathanael Lauster quoted by North Shore News, challenging the claim housing supply has kept up with demand in the Vancouver region

Prof. Lauster was quoted alongside Applied Sciences Prof. Patrick Condon in a North Shore News story regarding BC home prices and supply shortage. Both experts challenged the notion housing supply has kept up with demand in Vancouver.

Prof. Yue Qian coauthors opinion piece for the BMJ on need to address mental health concerns of older populations amidst Omicron wave.

Prof. Yue Qian coauthors opinion piece for the BMJ on need to address mental health concerns of older populations amidst Omicron wave.

Prof. Yue Qian and co-author Dr. Yang Hu from Lancaster University write for the BMJ on what we know about the mental health of older populations in the context of the pandemic, and how we can address it going forward.

Congratulations to MA student Caitlin Chong for being featured in CSA Fall 2021 “Student Spotlight” series!

Congratulations to MA student Caitlin Chong for being featured in CSA Fall 2021 “Student Spotlight” series!

MA student Caitlin Chong has been featured in the Canadian Sociological Association Student Concerns Subcommittee “Student Spotlight” series for Fall 2021.
The feature highlights her proposed MA thesis project as well as her ongoing research conducted with Dr. Amanda Cheong and Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice.

Faculty Members Sign Statement of Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en People

Faculty Members Sign Statement of Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en People

Faculty in the Department of Sociology join professors and scholars from across Canada and around the world in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and land and water protectors in British Columbia, who oppose the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline on their traditional and unceded territory.