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.

Renisa Mawani Animalia

Prof. Renisa Mawani talks about her upcoming book Animalia: An Anti-Imperial Bestiary for Our Times

Prof. Renisa Mawani’s new book Animalia explores the central roles animals in the history of British imperial control, exploring how the politics of empire played out in multispecies relations.

Watch Distinguished Speaker Arlie Hochschild’s talk on bridging the political divide in the United States

Watch Distinguished Speaker Arlie Hochschild’s talk on bridging the political divide in the United States

Berkley Sociology professor emerita Dr Arlie Hochschild kicked off our 2020/2021 Distinguished Speaker Series on September 8, 2020 at UBC Sociology. In case you missed it, you can watch her talk here.

Welcome to a new year at UBC Sociology

Welcome to a new year at UBC Sociology

We are all facing new challenges and here you are returning (or starting) your journey at UBC in the Department of Sociology. Nothing is closer to the root of our discipline than trying to understand social change and crises and there is no doubt we are witnessing change all around. Read a welcome message from Department Head Guy Stecklov.

Humour matters more than ‘good looks’ on online dating writes Prof Yue Qian and MA student Siqi Xiao

Humour matters more than ‘good looks’ on online dating writes Prof Yue Qian and MA student Siqi Xiao

Research conducted by UBC Sociology Prof. Yue Qian and Masters student Siqi Xiao shows people who demonstrate a good sense of humour online receive higher ratings of attractiveness and suitability as long-term partners on online dating.

Prof Renisa Mawani Interviewed by the Globe & Mail on Recent Racism Research

Prof Renisa Mawani Interviewed by the Globe & Mail on Recent Racism Research

A little-known remote island off the coast of Victoria endures as a grim Canadian example of how contagion can fuel racism, says a University of British Columbia professor. Sociology professor Renisa Mawani says the recent increase in hate attacks against East Asian people in British Columbia and across Canada has echoes in the late 19th […]

Q&A with Prof Renisa Mawani on the Dark History of a small BC Island
Lecturer Amira Halperin works with MOSAIC to help with refugees’ and newcomers’ understanding of technology
Assistant Professor Amanda Cheong publishes article in International Migration Review

Assistant Professor Amanda Cheong publishes article in International Migration Review

Assistant Prof Amanda Cheong has a new article out examining the relationships between prior undocumented status and immigrants’ naturalization behaviours.

Welcoming new faculty to the department

Welcoming new faculty to the department

Learn more about our new faculty members and their work: Kimberly Huyser, Tony Silva and Michela Musto.

Sean Lauer Presents Findings on Diversity in Social Circles of Visible Minorities