Professor Bruce Carruthers Discusses how SFU Experience Shaped his Academic Career

While working in a Vancouver factory shortly after completing high school decades ago, Northwestern University professor Bruce Carruthers would spend his evenings reading. During this time, he came across a book titled “System and Structure: Essays in Communication and Exchange,” and was fascinated by it. Already interested in studying at Simon Fraser University, the “deal was sealed” when he looked up the author of this book and found that it was written by SFU Department of Communication Studies (later named the School of Communication) professor Anthony Wilden. Little did he know then that this would be the start of a successful career in academia.

Academic journey

At SFU, Carruthers found his love for university life, discovering and discussing new ideas, and conducting research. He is especially grateful to past professors Wilden, Paul Heyer, Dallas W. Smythe, William Leiss and William D. Richards Jr. from the Department of Communication for giving him a head start in interdisciplinary thinking, all coming from different backgrounds that helped shape him as a researcher. He also worked with MA Stevens from the math department as a research assistant, doing computer programming in FORTRAN.

“SFU gave me a great intellectual start to my career. Because of who I worked with, I got an advanced experience of interdisciplinary research,” says Carruthers.

After graduating from SFU in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, Carruthers knew that he wanted to continue in academia, and felt that his interdisciplinary experience at SFU would best fit with sociology. He completed an MA in Sociology in 1983 at Rutgers University, before completing his PhD in Sociology in 1991 at the University of Chicago. Since then, he has worked as a professor at Northwestern University.

About his research

Carruthers’ research spreads across multiple topics, from the economy to climate change and more. His last book, “The Economy of Promises”, looks at how the rise of the credit economy in the United States has become an integral part of modern surveillance capitalism.

“The economy is too interesting to leave to the economists. As a sociologist I can offer a different perspective on the economy,” says Carruthers.

His current research is on climate change and the phenomenon of “short-termism” in regard to climate change policies. He is studying examples of social institutions where people have effectively thought about the long-term, and trying to find organizing principles  we can harness  when creating climate change policies. For example, gothic cathedrals take an average of 250 years to build, meaning that those who started the building would not be around to see the finished product, yet we see many beautiful gothic cathedrals across Europe. 

Carruthers is a firm believer in the importance of social institutions and believes that our current social institutions are focused on the short-term when making decisions. He does see hope for the future, however, citing the Committee for the Future in Finland as an example of how our social institutions can change to make better long-term decisions.

Advice for aspiring academics

When asked about how to achieve a successful career in academia, Carruthers believes that a passion for what you are researching is the most important thing.

“Don’t go to grad school just because you’re good at school. Go to grad school because there is something that excites you and interests you and you want to gain a level of expertise higher than you could in your undergraduate classes. You must be highly motivated and love what you are doing,” he says.