Centres/Institutes/Groups

Research Data Centre

A vital part of our research is facilitated by the Statistics Canada Research Data Centre at Western. The Statistics Canada employees at the RDC provide researchers with access, in a secure university setting, to microdata from population and household surveys. The RDC also offers conferences, training, and workshops about statistical techniques and the use of data, not just for us at Sociology, but for all of Western. Projects undertaken at the RDC have generated products including master’s thesis, doctoral dissertations, and publications in books and journals. Check out RDC Highlights regularly for research findings by researchers using the RDC.

Sociology faculty and students research within these Western University interdisciplinary groups:

Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST)

NEST is the umbrella organization for all six Western Research Centres in the Faculty of Social Science, conducting world-class multidisciplinary research, fostering national and international collaborations, and facilitating the training of the next generation of leaders in academia, the private and non-profit sectors, and government. NEST also aims to train the next generation of policy researchers through mentorships, fellowships, and the new Master of Research for Policy and Evaluation program.
- Centre for Research on Social Inequality
  
  The Centre for Research on Social Inequality organizes and supports innovative social science research into the causes and impact of social inequality. We are a community of scholars working on research and methods that advance the scientific understanding of social issues related to changing population dynamics, individual and population aging, and social determinants of health.
- Centre for Computational and Quantitative Social Science
  
  As centres in NEST focus on problems that cross disciplinary boundaries, the Centre for Computational and Quantitative Social Science supports a common methodological underpinning for their research activities. We are working to bridge cross-disciplinary boundaries by facilitating conversation and collaboration on the use and development of quantitative social science methodology.
- Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
  
  The Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction brings together experts from across the Western community whose teaching and research focuses on issues including reconciliation, criminal accountability, post-colonial legacies, legal reconstruction, the environment, human rights, economic justice, healing circles, democratization, and more.
- Centre for Human Capital and Productivity
  
  The Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) studies and provides policy advice on issues related to human capital and productivity. CHCP researchers study a wide range of themes: Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary Schooling; Post-Secondary Education; Productivity and Earnings; Social Benefits of Human Capital; Human Capital Policy; and Human Capital, Development and Growth.
- Centre for Migration and Ethnic Relations
  
  The Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations facilitates research to inform public policy and practice on migration and ethnic relations in Canada and internationally. We foster interdisciplinary research among faculty and students, provide training opportunities for students beyond their own discipline and Western, and forge links with policy makers, our community, and the international academic community.
The Africa Institute

The Africa Institute at Western University was created to advance scholarship related to African societies, with researchers at Western, whose primary focus is Africa, in diverse fields including waste management, ecosystem health, health policy, gender studies, linguistics, refugee studies, and transitional justice. Western’s staff, faculty, and students have a strong history of involvement with the African continent, through volunteer programs and academic exchange programs. Together, we are building sustainable collaborations and partnerships with Africans to foster initiatives that address some of the most pressing issues facing the African continent.
Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism

The Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism is an interdisciplinary research centre concerned with the questions raised by movements such as Post-Structuralist Theory, Deconstruction, Social and Political Thought, Continental Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Visual Culture, Media Studies, Gender Studies, and Queer Theory, Marxist Theory, Post-Humanist Theory, 18th & 19th Century Philosophy, and History of Thought. We construct a dialogue, both between theory and its history, and between the disciplines or discourses that have contributed to contemporary theory. In addition to graduate seminars (most of which are unique to our program), we host a vigorous Speakers Series, regularly sponsor major international conferences, and support a graduate-student journal, Chiasma.