Sociology Department

Welcome to Sociology at StFX!

The Department of Sociology looks forward to welcoming you in our classes. With expertise in areas like culture, politics and the state, and health we can guide you through exciting topic areas like disability, friendship, hockey, technology, drugs and the state, justice, and resettlement.  The beauty of Sociology is its ability to understand the complexity of society through a multitude of lenses.  In our classes we equip you with the tools to theorise and critically understand the world around us.
 

What's Happening in the Department!

Congrats to Dr. John Phyne on receiving the distinction of Professor Emeritus in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the discipline and the academic life of the University. Dr. Phyne joined the Sociology Department in 1989 and retired in 2020. His ongoing research studies urban renewal in the city centre of mid-twentieth century St. John’s, combining biography, history and social structure in the spirit of sociologist C. Wright Mills.

Congrats to Dr. Joel Garrod for receiving tenure and promotion to Associate Professor! Dr. Garrod has taught Introduction to Sociology, Social Inequality in Canada, Power and the State, and Critical Political Economy and the Sociology Honours Seminar. Watch for his new course in 2025-2026, titled 'Elites'! Dr. Garrod is a critical political sociologist and economist. He has published in the top journals in his field, and has a new book publication with University of Toronto Press titled, Royal Histories: The Transformation of the Royal Bank of Canada, 1864-2022.