Steven Kleinknecht, Associate Professor

PhD, Sociology, McMaster University

Steven Kleinknecht is a sociologist interested in the study of subcultures and the role of technology in people’s everyday lives. He has conducted ethnographic research on the hacker subculture and cultural continuity among the Old Order Mennonites. Prior to earning his PhD, he worked as a research analyst at the Department of Justice where he researched cybercrime and youth justice issues. He is currently part of a team of researchers from the University of Alberta and York University studying autopsy providers’ perceptions of death.

Areas of Specialization

  • Subcultural studies
  • Technology and society
  • Qualitative research methods
  • Symbolic interactionism
  • Sociology of deviance
  • Criminology
  • Sociology of everyday life

Selected Publications

  • Bell, Edward, Alan Bryman, and Steven Kleinknecht. 2022. Social Research Methods (6th Canadian Edition). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
  • Kleinknecht, Steven, Lisa-Jo van den Scott, and Carrie Sanders (Eds.). 2018. The Craft of Qualitative Research: A Handbook. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
  • Kleinknecht, Steven. 2017. “Keeping up with the Martins: Prescribed Change, Homogeneity, and Cultural Continuity among the Old Order Mennonites.” In Patrizia Albanese and Lorne Tepperman (Eds.), Reading Sociology – Canadian Perspectives, 3rd Edition (pp. 58-61). Toronto: Oxford University Press.
  • Kleinknecht, Steven. 2011. “The Hacker Spirit: An Interactionist Analysis of the Hacker Ideology.” In Ed Ksenych (Ed.), Exploring Deviance in Canada (pp. 397-401). Toronto: Oxford University Press.
  • Puddephatt, Antony, William Shaffir, and Steven Kleinknecht (Eds.). 2009. Ethnographies Revisited: Conceptual Reflections from the Field. New York: Routledge.