Congratulations fall 2020 sociology and anthropology graduates

Shaughna Cooper, MA sociology

Shaughna Cooper started her MA in sociology at SFU in the Fall of 2017 and will be graduating this October. Her entry into the MA program coincided with the Provincial Government’s Temporary Modular Housing program, which aims to rapidly create housing units for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The program has faced mixed reactions, with particularly heated responses from Maple Ridge residents, whose city was the proposed site for one of the modular housing buildings. “This eruption appeared to me as an interesting opportunity to explore the ideological influence of neoliberal governance and its wanton disregard for the welfare of the poorest communities in BC,” says Cooper.

Her thesis, “Panic! In the suburbs: Investigating moral configurations of risk, neoliberal rationality, and middle-class anxiety in Maple Ridge, BC” explores the reaction to the homeless encampment “Anita Place” and the ensuing modular housing proposals. Cooper’s thesis seeks to understand why the Maple Ridge community had such a strong reaction to the government housing program, and argues that the resistance is the result of a moral panic. Her full thesis can be found here.

In 2019 Cooper began working at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS where she is a Research Assistant for the Viral Hepatitis Research Program; in November she’ll be moving into the role of Research Coordinator. The program looks at the hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic in BC, focusing on: the evaluation of treatment and care; the intersection of HIV, HCV and addiction; and advising health policy through evidence-based research. Cooper also recently started volunteering with the Democratic Socialists of Canada, where she helps with research and writing that promote democratic socialist policies in Canada.