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The current paper presents the results of a national survey of 190 full-time members of Canadian sociology departments to examine the state of the discipline in 2014-15. The paper focuses on the extent of epistemological diversity in an effort to answer two key questions. First, what intellectual perspectives prevail among Canadian sociologists and, along these lines, does any particular perspective hold greater prominence? Second, what might explain the variation in the epistemological stances most commonly endorsed? The evidence reveals a preponderance of critical and feminist scholars, which can be explained in large measure by considering the social locations of sociological practitioners. The results of a logistic regression model confirm that gender, generation, geography, and disciplinary genre are significant predictors of critical and critical-feminist orientations. A discussion of qualitative responses fleshes out the dominant themes that Canadian scholars expressed in their survey responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of sociology as a discipline in Canada is intimately related to its institutional position within Canadian universities. As student bodies expanded, not only did the demand for university-based sociologists increase but there was also a demand for society-specific class material for sociology courses. This paper examines the textbook, particularly in the 1970's, as a symbol of changes and developments in the discipline and demonstrates its role in synthesis-building, community-building, and nation-building in anglo-Canadian sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the life histories of ten anglophone Canadian pioneer women sociologists: Helen Abell, Grace Anderson, Jean Burnet, Eleanor Cebotarev, Kathleen Hennan, Helen McGill Hughes, Thelma McCormack, Helen Ralston, Aileen Ross and Dorothy Smith. All were born before 1930, encountered significant sexism, and found jobs very easily. This pattern is placed into the context of a politics of gender and a politics of knowledge. Politics of gender in the institutional context and in family rules resulted in disadvantages, while the effect of the women's movement led to solidarity among women sociologists and eventual improvements in their situation. The simultaneous emergence of the women's movement and the Canadianization movement led to a politics of knowledge which proved advantageous for both. Nevertheless, the sociological canon so far has hot included women pioneers -- the author needed to conduct interviews since almost no published information existed about most of these important sociologists prior to this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the distribution of males and females of British, French and "other" ethnic origins among sociology and anthropology professors from 1971 to 1996. The results suggest that there has been a steady increase in the proportion of females compared to males, however, most of the increase has been experienced by women of British and French origins. The British and French females increased their representation both in terms of first time employment into the rank of assistant professor and with respect to promotion to higher ranks. In contrast, females of "other" ethnic origins were less likely to move into the university setting, but, once there, they were more likely to move up into higher ranks. In general, the study suggests that we should not view the category of "woman" as monolithic: British women are more privileged than French and "non-charter" women and men in the academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]