Teaching
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
- Plutarch
Whether teaching an introductory course or an advanced graduate seminar, my goal is the same: to inspire the sociological imagination and to empower rigorous methodologies that lead to the discovery of new insights into the social structures and relations that shape how we think, work, and live.
Taught Courses
Excerpts from Teaching Evaluations
"He was knowledgeable, approachable, and enthusiastic. His classes were informative and interactive. I enjoyed my learning experience.”
Third-Year 'Law and Society' Student
Second-Year 'Deviant Behaviour' Student
“Dr. Gray was absolutely amazing! He keeps the class engaged. He is a modern Prof. and understands our generation. I will be doing my minor in sociology because of him!”
Crime and Deviance
What is a crime? What constitutes deviant behavior? What are the major agencies involved in the control of crime and deviance? How effective are they? In this course, students will be encouraged to question and to think critically about criminal justice policies and official practices on crime. Students will be presented with different theories and explanations of crime and deviance, as well as a wide range of topics that include homicide, serial killers, animal cruelty, cybercrimes, aboriginal justice, environmental pollution, and institutional corruption. The sessions will be divided between lectures, class discussion, and videos on current events.
Qualitative Methods
In this course, students will be provided with the opportunity to learn and
Implement a wide range of qualitative research methodologies currently used by social scientists. In particular, students will learn about ethnography, interviewing, and new approaches to narrative analysis. Class discussions will also involve topics such as ethics, reflexivity, and validity in qualitative research. The sessions will be divided between lectures, class discussions, and in-class workshops on how to conduct qualitative research.
Regulation and Social Control
Examines forms of regulation, social control and policing. Emphasizes how power operates in organizations, how policing happens in contemporary society, and the role of the state and military in regulating everyday life.
White Collar Crime
An examination of the neglected problem of white-collar crime. Topics include corporate crime, financial fraud, occupational crime, cybercrime, worker safety, environmental crime, consumer victimization, professional misconduct, and the corruption of science.
Transdisciplinary Research
Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdiciplinary approaches have been integral to many of my research projects. Transdisciplinary methods actively recognize the research process as being part of an open, dynamic system that operates simultaneously on multiple levels, justifying the synthesis of knowledge through disciplinary collaboration.
Crime and Delinquency
Law and Society
Deviant Behaviour
Past Courses