What's New

My current research project examines friendship and friendship formation in the context of social infrastructure. In particular, I consider how community organizations create situational mechanisms that allow new friendships to emerge. I have just submitted a report to SSHRC and Policy Horizons Canada titled, Making Friends at Community Organizations that is publically available here.

My paper on Cosmopolitan Social Infrastructure is publically available from Current Sociology. My book, Neighbourhood Houses: Community Building in Vancouver, with Miu Chung Yan is out now!

One of my current projects concerns the diversity of friendship groups, particularly co-ethnic and cross-ethnic friendships. A new paper in Ethnic and Racial Studies is now available. A paper with Brett Matsushita on marriage and friendship is under review.

I recently gave a talks on Covid-19 about social infrastructure and social distancing for UBC Extended Learning and was part of a panel at SFU discussing the same topic. You can see my UBC presentation here and the SFU discussion here.

Since 2018, I have been working with a team to establish the new UBC Centre for Migration Studies. In my role as the Community Liaison, we recently developed an approach to equitable collaborative research involving community-university partnerships that uses Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs). We are currently in the process of developing a Community Advisory Board that will institutionalize a forum for community voices at the new Centre.

Carrie Yodanis and I have been part of an ongoing discussion about the deinstitutionalization of marriage and individualized marriage. Andrew Cherlin has recently published a response to our work in Journal of Marriage and Family.

Sean R. Lauer, Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia. p:604-822-1609 e: sean(dot)lauer(at)ubc(dot)ca