The Athenaeum

Tag: sociology

  • Research Feature: Alexandra Pulchny

    Research Feature: Alexandra Pulchny

    My area of research is within the sociology of education, specifically Indigenous education in Canada. My master’s thesis explores institutional arrangements of the Nova Scotia Department of Education and curriculum for public high schools in Nova Scotia, asking how Indigenous histories and voices are acknowledged and honoured, and more specifically, what is being done to incorporate and maintain Treaty education. It also involves finding solutions to decolonizing the social studies curriculum in Nova Scotia through the voices of curriculum developers and teachers.

    According to Christine Martineau in her dissertation, Digging Up the Roots of Educational Policy: Curriculum Infusion and Aboriginal Student Identity Development (Martineau 2018), the function of Canadian provincial schools is to reproduce Canadian society, which helps them reinforce a core belief that contributed to the structure of Residential schools and the modern education system: the belief that first peoples are inferior and that the land they claimed upon arrival is their own (Martineau 2018). In terms of modern institutions, Martineau notes that according to The Coalition for the Advancement of Aboriginal Studies (CAAS), “[… the absence of aboriginal worldviews in classrooms is a major factor in the racism and discrimination that Aboriginal peoples currently face in Canadian society and its institutions.” (Martineau 2018:21) In order to eliminate this discrimination and racism within educational institutions, CAAS and Martineau believe that the knowledges and experiences of Indigenous peoples need to be presented (Martineau 2018).

    My inspiration to do this project stemmed from my own experiences with the education system in Nova Scotia and was encouraged by the professors in the department of sociology, as well as the encouraging environment they produced. I attended a rural high school before attending Acadia for my undergrad, and it wasn’t until I took “Introduction to Social Problems” in Sociology that I began to really think about the history of colonialism in Canada and the lack of education we received on the subject in high school. Although it was touched on briefly in Social Studies, and students were given a choice to take Mi’kmaw Studies 11, I do not remember learning a significant amount; and I found, when I sparked the conversation with friends, that many of us did not remember what we learned about colonialism and Mi’kmaw culture and histories. These histories, cultures, and ways of knowing are things that we should remember; we should be able to take something away from the education, whether we are Indigenous or non-Indigenous students. For Indigenous students, having their ways of knowing, histories, cultures, and languages taught and respected in schools helps them build self-identity and feelings of belonging and representation. For non-Indigenous students, it helps us recognize that there is more to the history of our country than what the Western institutions present to us, and in fact, the history of this land began long before Europeans arrived. Finally, it also helps students connect and respect the varying backgrounds and ways of life, and helps them learn and build bonds outside of the classroom.  

    My aim is to (a) present the importance of Treaty education within Nova Scotia’s public K-12 schools; (b) inform the process of providing students access to a quality and equitable education regardless of social location (i.e. education that is representative and considerate of their varying cultures, values, and social classes); and (c) to work towards building an inclusive curriculum – in other words, a curriculum that aims to provide educational access and successful participation for all students, in acknowledgement of multiple, valid ways of knowing, being, and learning –  keeping in mind the importance of Indigenous voices and studies in the K-12 school curriculum.

     

  • Family Roles & Sympathy Casseroles

    Family Roles & Sympathy Casseroles

    In the event of a death, there is a Western tradition to visit the family to give condolences; this visit is commonly paired with comfort food like casseroles, soups and sweets. However, the casseroles do not last forever, ultimately leaving the family to reorganize family roles in an attempt to regain functionality. My research specifically explored the functions of family dynamics after the death of parent. This research question originated from my first-hand experience of growing up through grief. At the young age of sixteen, I lost my mother suddenly to a heart attack and this altered the function of my family. The loss of my mother not only left a huge hole in my heart, it also left huge gaps in the everyday functions of my home: things like washing laundry, organizing my sister’s and my sport schedules and daily cleaning of the house were all tasks left unspoken for.

    Anyone who has suffered a tremendous loss knows one of the hardest things about grieving is that life continues; knowing this, my family and I had no choice but to pick up her responsibilities and adjust to this new everyday life. Not only did I watch roles in the family change, but I observed transformations in my own relationships and even formed new ones within the family. Having lived this far-from-normal adolescence, I could not help but wonder how other families with similar experiences compared. Specifically, my thesis study focused on the loss of a parental family member and how that absence changes the function of the home and family. I argue that parental loss disrupts the function of the family, creating a gendered division of labour through the shifting of roles in terms of food labour, domestic labour and emotional labour. To explore this, I relied on a qualitative methods approach, beginning with a qualitative questionnaire to recruit participants then following this up with semi-structured interviews. The sample consisted of six students: two males and four females between the ages of 18 and 23 who attend Acadia University and have lost a parent. The findings highlighted the association between the ease of transitioning roles depending on whether the death was anticipated or sudden, as well as that even in times of grief, the division of labour in the home remained gendered as women of the family were more likely to step in to maintain functionality.

    This research also demonstrated how Western traditions related to death can negatively impact the grieving process. In times of grief and bereavement, individuals typically experience feelings of emptiness, therefore our society’s reaction is to fix an empty heart with a full tummy. The data alleges that since the grieving process is so individualized, society’s “one size fits all” response to death, while intended to be a kind gesture, is ultimately problematic. When these ‘sympathy casseroles’ stop, it is society’s way of dictating to the family that it is time to start ‘moving on’. Most of those who comfort the family are blind to the ways their actions dictate a timeline for grief. As per the data, most interviewees stated that these visitations last for roughly a week while the food lasted for weeks up to even a month. This societal response wrongly suggests that the structure of the family will have regrouped and regained function within this timeline. This widespread ignorance to the emotional weight of losing a loved one depicts a bigger issue at hand: what the data illustrates is a clear lack of societal understanding of the grieving process.

    This research has contributed greatly to the understanding of grief and family from the societal, familial and individual level. While this research has been both insightful and therapeutic for me and the interviewees, its greatest benefit will be to individuals and families deeply entrenched in grief. To those who are grieving and struggling to find words, I hope this research gives you a voice.

  • Research Feature: Katie Campeau

    Research Feature: Katie Campeau

    In my undergraduate research, I created and distributed a survey for my honours thesis in Acadia’s sociology program. In it, I questioned how students felt about Acadia’s student counselling services. More specifically, I sought to understand whether students felt this service provided adequate treatment. My findings concluded that the counselling services were created for students with minor to moderate mental health issues. In my open-ended question, students with eating disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Bipolar Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psychotic disorders wrote that the counselling services were not designed to treat their severe mental illnesses. As a result, many of these students either spent a considerable amount of money to seek treatment off campus or received no treatment at all.

    I’m not suggesting that this service wasn’t successful in meeting other students’ needs—the service is designed for students who face minor to moderate mental health problems; stress from a large academic workload, relationship issues, and adjusting to new responsibilities associated with being a university student. In fact, I was informed by the head of the counselling services that their treatment is designed to meet the needs of the majority of students, and that the majority of students do not have severe mental illnesses. While this is true, I still couldn’t help but feel affronted by this statement. I am an individual with a severe mental illness. I am a part of the minority that the services exclude. Am I not important? Are the opinions and work of individuals with severe mental illnesses not a valuable contribution?

    This line of questioning led me to question how we, as a society, conceptualize severe mental illness. More importantly, I questioned how individuals in power define severe mental illness, and what these definitions mean for individuals living with them. This focus on power and definitions led to my interest in mental health policy, and more specifically how severe mental illness fits into various levels of government policies. My research questions are: How do Nova Scotia policy makers define severe mental illness? How do definitions of severe mental illness influence the creation and implementation of mental health policies? I am particularly interested in how the provincial government includes, or fails to include, the needs of individuals whose mental health issues are severe and debilitating in their day-to-day life. Furthermore, I want to understand how the provincial government defines severe mental illness when compared to minor and moderate mental health issues, and how this impacts their policies. I intend to explore these questions using qualitative methods, which include conducting an Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) of Nova Scotia’s three most current mental health strategies, and a section of legislation entitled Bill 109—the Mental Health Act. I will also interview fifteen individuals who work as policy makers, mental health professionals, and members of mental health Non-Profit Organizations (NGOs). Once all of my data is collected and analyzed, my goal is to define my thesis in April of 2020.

    As a graduate student in sociology, I have had to defend my sociological study of severe mental illness. I often get asked why I didn’t pursue a degree in psychology. Here is my answer to curious readers: mental health and illness is a sociological issue. I am not interested in studying mental health and illness through pathology and neuroscience. I want to understand how severe mental illness is socially constructed and understood across society. Individuals with severe mental illness were perceived as “deviant” and “crazy” in the 1950’s, during the age of the “asylum”. Today, on the other hand, we openly discuss mental health and illness as a universal issue during events like Bell Let’s Talk. I am interested in how our society’s conception of mental health and mental illness is shifting, and how this shift is reflected in health policy. This research is important because individuals with severe mental illness are a vulnerable population and are at times overlooked due to their small numbers. It is important to ensure that their needs are being met.

     

  • Research Feature: Katie Winters

    Research Feature: Katie Winters

    My name is Katie Winters and I am a fourth-year Honours Sociology student. I have written my thesis as a content analysis of the multi-media project “Die Jim Crow”. I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Tony Thomson for his intelligence and expertise. I have also been told at research conferences to thank my funders when presenting and discussing my topic. I have paid about $100 for my research out of my own pocket, so shout out to myself.

    To set the stage for the project itself and its relevance, I believe it is imperative to first describe the scope of mass-incarceration in the United States. The land of the “free” is the land that incarcerates the highest rate of citizens per capita than any other country in the world. As of 2018, “the American criminal justice system holds almost 2.3 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 1,852 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,163 local jails, and 80 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories” (Prisonpolicy.org, 2018). This epidemic of mass-incarceration targets specific groups, especially Black Americans. Although Black Americans account for approximately 12% of the United States’ general population, they account for approximately 38% of the United States’ prison population (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2018).  This is not because they commit more crime, but because they are more likely to be arrested, tried, and handed heavier sentences than their White peers. Depending on the state, a Black person is three to ten times more likely to be arrested than a White person for possession of marijuana (ACLU, 2017). Now that I have laid down the statistics so that people cannot come at me with the “facts don’t care about your feelings” garbage, I will explain what I found in my analysis of the very impressive multi-media project, “Die Jim Crow”.

    To begin, I want to preface that I myself have never been incarcerate nor am I Black. I do not claim to understand these experiences or wish to exploit them, but I wish to use the privilege that has been afforded to me by my race and education to communicate the art and lived experiences from the talented, determined, and inspirational contributors of “Die Jim Crow”.

    “Die Jim Crow” is a multi-media project that consists of six songs, one music video, and various examples of visual art compiled into a 200-page book. According to the website, the project is about the Black American experience in the era of mass-incarceration and it is the first ever album recorded in multiple United States’ prisons. The project and its title suggest that mass-incarceration is new form of Jim Crow segregation laws. Titles of the songs include: “My Name Be Jim Crow”, “A215-162”, “Tired and Weary”, “Plastic Bag”, “First Impressions”, and “Headed to the Streets”. I began by coding the lyrics of the songs for frequent themes. I compiled these themes into a word-cloud that included themes like: poverty, humiliation, racism, dehumanization, PTSD, and reintegration. These themes are clearly present in both the lyrics and in the literature that I reviewed. An example of powerful lyrics from “Headed to the Streets” that represents a variety of these themes reads as follows: “Another day another hope for a dolla/ I hit the pavement/ Been filling out 20 applications/ A day since I got out”, as well as the lines: “Society don’t trust you- they couldn’t get any leerier/ I’m tired from my struggle- I couldn’t get any wearier”. These lines are loaded with representations of themes like trouble with reintegration, poverty, stereotyping, and mental health struggles.

    I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview project founder Fury Young and lyricist and performer B.L. Shirelle. I asked Shirelle what her favourite imagery from the music video was and she mentioned the scene on the beach (pictured below).

    She explained why this was her favourite imagery: “It just explains so much like how you feel when you’re not able to properly able to reintegrate. It’s like I’m out here, I’m free, I’m breathing the air. But it’s still like I’m locked the fuck up”. She explained what she meant by stating the following: “When I was locked up at least my mind was free. I could think, I could wonder, like do shit. Out here, I don’t even got that”.

    In summary, this article does not even begin to scrape the surface of the complexities of mass-incarceration and the symbolism that lies within “Die Jim Crow”. I urge everyone reading to Google the project and see for yourself the talent and thought that goes into the project. My full thesis will be available for reading in the spring/summer months are The Vaughn Memorial Library, but please do not hesitate to ask me any questions before then.

  • Finding Fiander: Sociology Students Uncover Details of Student’s expulsion in 1959

    Finding Fiander: Sociology Students Uncover Details of Student’s expulsion in 1959

    It is difficult to imagine being expelled today for an act as innocuous as writing a feather-ruffling poem, but that is exactly what happened to former Acadia student Robert Fiander in 1959.

    On the afternoon of March 14th, students, faculty, and community members alike gathered in the Fountain Commons to learn about the “Fiander Fiasco.” The presentation was lead by a group of sociology students in a Graduate Research methods class, detailing the expulsion of Acadia student Robert “Bob” Fiander nearly sixty years ago. Fiander’s expulsion was based on the grounds of “foul blasphemy” regarding the controversial poem that he had penned and published in the Athenaeum. On February 3rd, 1959, Fiander received a letter from the then president, Dr. Watson Kirconnel, informing him of not only his suspension but demanding he leave the town of Wolfville. The grounds of suspension? Foul blasphemy, regarding a poem he had written for the student newspaper, the Athenaeum, titled “Paradoxically Speaking.”

    Click here to read Fiander’s Paradoxically Speaking

    Sociology students involved in the project were in their fourth year or doing a graduate degree. There were six students who presented their findings and the story of Fiander, as follows: Kate Dalrymple, Nora Allen, Sulemain Semalulu, Elise Snow-Kropla, Jessica Bundy, and Vicki Archer. The student researchers noted that putting the pieces of Fiander’s story together was not an easy task. The researchers had little information regarding Fiander to work from, and had to refer to archival sources, interviews with students at the time of Fiander’s Acadia career, and interviews with his relatives. Through months of work and dedication to the project, the students uncovered events leading up to Fiander’s expulsion, deliberations regarding the poem and his dismissal from Acadia, as well as those involved in and opposed to the process.

    Dr. Zelda Abramson, a sociology professor who aided the students in the project, introduced the project, emphasizing that Robert “Bob” Fiander’s situation had sparked interest in not only his expulsion, but his life, his personality, and the wider Acadia culture at that time. The crowd listened as Dr. Jessica Slights of the English department performed the poem that Fiander penned. Slights asked that the audience imagine that they were being transported back to 1959 as she delivered the poem in the satirical and conversational style Fiander had intended.

    Stressed was the importance to understand historical and cultural context at this time. Researchers spoke to the cultural context of Acadia in 1959, highlighting the community standards and social pressures, sharp gender roles, taboos that continued to surround alcohol and the “slight religious undertone” of Acadia’s Baptist roots. Acadia at the time housed less than 1000 students, of whom most lived in residence. The town of Wolfville, still largely dominated by conservative values, was very separate from the school, often at odds with Acadia’s more liberal body of students. Also characteristic of the time were strict rules, regulation, and punishment deemed “moralistic,” but the lack of formal documents and communication of these students presented another intervening factor. Especially relevant was the existence of a demerit system, one that Fiander seemed to have encountered before the poem.

    The students also delved deeper in to Fiander’s situation, regarding who made the decision to have him expelled from Acadia. Although on the surface it appeared that it had been the singular motion of President Kirconnel, further research proved otherwise. The importance of the student judicial committee and students’ input in the event as well as the minutes of the Board of Governor’s presented a story that showed both support for and disdain for Fiander.

    The presentation finished with an analysis of the poem from Dr. William Brackney of the Divinity College. Dr. Brackney provided insight on to the content of the poem, and the contempt of god and sacred people, such as alluding to the Virgin Mary and the death of Christ in a very untraditional manner. Ultimately, he expressed that although “blasphemy” was a harsh assertion, the piece certainly did contain many elements that could certainly bring about a negative reaction from the Baptist Community that Acadia housed at the time.

    Blasphemous or not, the poem is certainly communicative of Fiander’s intelligence, wit, and willingness to bring dominant and traditional modes of thinking in to authority. The group of student researchers did a phenomenal job not only uncovering details of Fiander’s time at Acadia, but of portraying the climate of Acadia in the late 1950s, and of humanizing Fiander so that he is not to be forgotten.

  • Faculty of Arts Interviewing Candidates for SOCI/WGS Tenure-track Position

    The Faculty of Arts is undergoing a hiring process for the first of two tenure-track positions. The first position is a cross-appointment for an Assistant Professor in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies. Three candidates are being interviewed for this position. The first two candidates are Dr. Vannina Sztainbok and Dr. Claudine Bonner, each of whom have delivered their research talks last week. Dr. Poulter, Coordinator of Women’s and Gender Studies, has confirmed that following the interview of the third candidate, the hiring committee will convene very quickly to make a decision.

    Dr. Vannina Sztainbok delivered her research talk at Acadia on January 18th, speaking about her book “Black Femininity in Uruguay: The Conventillo, the Carnival Vedette and the Laundress.” Dr. Sztainbok’s research lends fascinating insight to the fetishization of African-Uruguyan women’s bodies, drawing from a range of gender, race, and social literature as well as psychoanalysis. Dr. Sztainbok is currently based in Toronto, but expressed interest in teaching and doing research in Nova Scotia due to the province’s African-Canadian history, particularly Africville.

    Dr. Claudine Bonner delivered a research talk on January 21st. Dr. Bonner is an Assistant Professor at Acadia; she teaches a number of sociology courses, as well as a WGS course this year on Women of the African Diaspora. Dr. Bonner spoke on the topic “‘Our Island Home’ – Early 20th Century Race & Labour Migration to Cape Breton, NS.” In the early twentieth century, there was a substantial amount of Caribbean migration to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Dr. Bonner explores the reasons behind Caribbean migration using Diaspora Theory, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, Black Feminist Thought, and Black Masculinity theories, actively uncovering a history of Cape Breton and migration that is not well-known.

    The third candidate will deliver a research talk and meet with students on January 26th or 27th. Contact Dr. Poulter for information if you are interested in meeting the third candidate.

    Hiring two tenure-track professors in the field of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies signifies an acknowledgement of the importance of WGS theories in university settings. The research areas of the first two candidates signifies that greater academic emphasis on intersectionality at Acadia will soon be taking place.

  • The Vagina Dialogues: Conversations Around Female Bodies

    The Vagina Dialogues: Conversations Around Female Bodies

    As my 4th year at Acadia comes to a close, the one thing that stands between my degree and myself is my honours thesis. I have been lucky and still enjoy my topic as much as I did when I started last spring, and despite grumbling and groaning over different aspects of the process, it has been very rewarding and generally enjoyable. I chose to focus my research on female genitalia and the stigmatization and mystification of the female body through language and education. My research is situated in relation to the historical patriarchal dominance of the field of medicine, and the construction of genital taboos in the Victorian era. Further, the changes that occurred in the Sexual Revolution in the 1970s were examined (particularly the women’s self-help movement) as a period of enlightenment and a historical marker to compare current understandings of female genitalia. In the fall of 2015, I implemented a survey and received over 300 responses from Acadia students regarding their early childhood education about female genitalia, the terms they were taught, their comfort discussing female genitalia, and use of slang or anatomical language when discussing female genitalia.

    The phenomenon that academics call the “conflation of the vagina and vulva,” in which the term vagina comes to stand for all of the female genital organs, was reflected in my results, particularly when participants were asked to label a diagram of external female genitalia. Only 30% of respondents correctly identified the vulva, and a higher proportion of male respondents got it correct compared to females. The most common incorrect response was vagina, supporting previous research. The conflation of vagina and vulva was evident within the first terms that participants were taught for female genitalia. Over 60% of respondents were taught that the female genitalia were solely the vagina, and only three respondents were initially taught that there were various female genital organs (vulva, vagina, labia, etc.). Some of the factors that impacted respondents’ ability to correctly label female genital organs were place of residence, comfort and major of study. There was a statistically significant relationship between place of residence and correct identification of the vulva; Atlantic Canadian residents were 60% less likely to label vulva correctly, and those from rural areas of Canada were 49% less likely to label it correctly. Those who were more comfortable talking about female genitalia were more likely to label the vulva correctly. Though there was not a statistically significant relationship between major and ability to label vulva correctly, it was found that Biology and Psychology students were more likely to be able to identify the vulva and Sociology majors had more difficulty. In terms of comfort, it was found that respondents were more comfortable talking about female genitalia with people who identified as the same gender as they did, and that university had made people comfortable talking about female genitalia overall.

    The importance of talking about the vulva and female genitalia may not be obvious at first, but I argue that without a concise and clear language to describe the female body, there is a lack of communication, and understanding of the female body. This can lead to challenges communicating with doctors, partners, and even having a full awareness of one’s own body. I critique the current education system and sexual education curriculums, highlighting that clear education early in childhood is of the utmost importance. Claims that genital terminology is too complex for young children is absurd when they can name 40 kinds of dinosaurs.

    Thanks are due to the Sociology department and Dr. Zelda Abramson for supporting this research and getting me through this process.

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