Masters of Arts Students

Kalias Bijman

Supervisor: Dr. Marta-Marika Urbanik

Through the Canadian Crime and Homelessness Study, I work with People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH) to understand how they conceptualize and perceive safety in encampments throughout Alberta. I study several dimensions of safety including interpersonal, hygienic, and environmental safety. After I graduate, I hope to pursue a career in community outreach.

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Sam Dancey

I am interested in exploring how science research laboratories can interact with Indigenous methodologies, epistemologies, people, and lands in meaningful ways that benefit Indigenous communities. My research plans to use ethnographic methods informed by Néhiyaw teachings with a focus on relationality. While my interests fall within the Sociology of Science, I aim to prioritize decolonization.

Wenny Fan

Supervisor: Dr. Sandra Bucerius

I am a Master's student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta. I received my BA(Hons) in Psychology from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

Some of my research interests include prisons, hate crimes, community reintegration, crime desistance and queer theory.

Samantha Knapp

Supervisor: Dr. Jana Grekul

Samantha is a Master's student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta. She obtained her BA in Criminology from the University of Alberta. Samantha's research focuses on prison programming, drug treatment, and correctional policies. Her thesis examines correctional officers and incarcerated individuals' perceptions of Therapeutic Living Units (TLUs) in Alberta provincial prisons.

Maddy Rousseau

Maddy is a master's student in the Sociology department at the University of Alberta. She obtained her BA in Sociology from MacEwan University. Maddy's research interests center on the radicalization and extremism of far-right youth in both online and offline contexts. These research interests broadly include the familial and childhood backgrounds of radicalized youth, the role of social media echo chambers, and the implications of anti-extremism policy.

Eleese Sealy

My name is Eleese Sealy, and I am a recent criminology graduate from the University of Alberta. My research focuses on the Impact of Race-Culture Assessments (IRCAs) pre-sentencing reports, which aim to recognize and address societal racial biases affecting Black offenders. As this is a new tool, questions have emerged regarding its legitimacy and interpretation in sentencing, particularly concerning the limitations inherent in legal interpretation.

Saira Shearer

Supervisor: Dr. Karen Hughes

Research Interests: Sociology of Work and Entrepreneurship; Female Work; Motherhood; Multi-level-Marketing; the #BossBabe rhetoric; Weight-Stigmatization; Ethical research

My research interests are focused in the Sociology of Work with a specific interest in multi-level-marketing (MLM), wellness, and motherhood. Within the broader scheme of qualitative research, I am also particularly interested in ethical research practice within academia.

Jessica Soman

Supervisor: Dr. Sandra Bucerius

Research Interests: Criminology, Gender and Sexuality, Health and Wellbeing

My research interest lies within the intersection between digital sociology and feminist studies: my master’s project seeks to understand the impacts of online gender-based violence and discrimination on feminine identity expression and mental health in the video game industry. My other interests include criminological research surrounding predatory groups online and the prevention of youth victimization. .