Dr. Alan Sears

Dr. Sears is on leave in the Fall 2023 term.

Areas of Expertise: 

sexuality; theory; social movements; work; education

Research:

Alan’s has written or co-written three books and a number of articles and chapters focussing on social change, inequality and ways of knowing. His academic research is connected to his activist engagements in movements for social justice. He is currently working on a book on sexual liberation beyond equality rights.

Website:

independent.academia.edu/AlanSears (external link, opens in new window) 

Courses:

• SSH 100: Inquiry and Problem-Solving
• 
SSH 500: Peer Learning Experience
• SOC 472: Sociology of Work and Occupations
• SOC 490: Capstone, Specializing Your Knowledge

Graduate Program Membership:

• Communication & Culture
• Policy Studies

Community & Professional Service:

• Alan is an activist in a variety of social justice organizations
• His activist writing is published in the New Socialist webzine, (external link, opens in new window)  The Bullet, (external link, opens in new window)  Briarpatch magazine (external link, opens in new window)  and other places

Recent & Selected Publications:

Sears, A. and J. Cairns. 2015. A Good Book in Theory: Making Sense through Inquiry (external link)  (3rd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Sears, A. 2014. The Next New Left: A History of the Future. (external link)  Winnipeg: Fernwood Press.

Cairns, J. and A. Sears. 2012. The Democratic Imagination: Envisioning Popular Power in the Twenty-First Century. (external link)  Toronto: University of Toronto Press

Sears, A. 2003. Retooling the Mind Factory: Education in a Lean State. (external link)  Toronto: University of Toronto Press.