Conference Sessions

As a material necessity, housing lies at the heart of social life and is a key vector for the re/production of inequality. While existing social scientific approaches to housing tend to foreground policy and political economy, housing is not only a material necessity. Whether we talk about McMansions or tiny homes, gated communities or homeless encampments, housing endures as one of the most meaningful signifiers in contemporary society. Put simply, housing is deeply symbolic and holds multiple meanings. Treating meaning as central to social life, over the last thirty-plus years, cultural sociologists have substantially advanced our understanding of the role of culture in (re)producing inequality and exclusion (Lamont et al 2016; Cottom 2019; Alexander 2007). This work foregrounds symbolic dimensions of material inequality. Surprisingly though, there is little conversation between housing studies scholars and cultural sociologists. While currently marginal in housing studies, what happens when we bring cultural sociology to the study of housing? This session brings housing studies and cultural sociology into productive dialogue, probing possible intersections theoretically, conceptually, methodologically, and/or empirically. By exploring intersections between housing as both a material reality and a deeply meaningful symbol, we can develop new insights on inequality, and create opportunities to think anew about addressing the current housing crisis.

In 2008, the City of Calgary was the first municipality in Canada to implement a 10-year plan to end homelessness. Other Canadian cities soon followed suit, yet 15 years later, homelessness continues to be a significant social problem. Recent reports from Vancouver, for example, suggest that the number of unhoused individuals and families has increased over the last couple of years. All major cities saw a surge in and greater visibility of encampments, and the predominant response is the forceful removal of residents and their belongings from public spaces. What is the current state of sociological research focusing on homelessness in Canada? This session invited theoretical contributions, methodological discussions, empirical findings, and critical examinations of homelessness and people experiencing homelessness in the Canadian context.

This session explores the meaning of and contemporary challenges in achieving homeownership. Presentations will consider the relationship between housing, housing development, and neighbourhood communities and explore how various social institutions, such as the criminal justice system, respond to members of society who find themselves without stable housing in Canadian society.

We invite Folx across disciplines, geographies, communities and decolonizing journeys, from Turtle Island to Palestine, whether you’re ready and haven’t yet started or you have been enacting decolonization for years, to join us for 90 minutes of dreaming, collective care, and co-liberation. This workshop will open with a smudge and will take place in a Sharing Circle format. We will begin by sharing our stories of decolonizing pedagogies at King’s University College through the Decolonization Advisory Circle, in the classroom, and with/in The CARE Collective (Insta: @c.a.r.e.collective). The Decolonization Advisory Circle is a group of faculty, staff and students currently working on an interdisciplinary decolonizing and indigenizing pedagogy pilot at King’s. The CARE Collective is a student-led mutual aid initiative that is part of the curriculum in courses taught by Jess Notwell and Lesley Bikos that addresses (settler) colonialism, systemic racism and interlocking oppressions through Healing Circles, Teachings shared by Elders Mary Lou and Dan Smoke, community kitchens, pot lucks, and community/direct action. Participants will then be invited to share the wisdom and truth of your own decolonizing journeys, including experiences, co-creation, challenges, lessons learned, and freedom dreams (Kelley, 2002). If you haven’t started yet but are inspired to begin decolonizing your pedagogy, we invite you to share your hopes, questions, and decolonial visions. As we co-create beloved community in the Circle, we will discuss ways to walk with one another after the workshop and throughout the year to support and sustain our individual and collective work toward decolonizing pedagogies through enacting beloved community, collective care and resistance.

This session features presentations addressing issues of Indigenous-settler relations and decolonization.