Shaughna Cooper, MA sociology

Shaughna Cooper started her MA in sociology at 丁香园AV in the Fall of 2017 and will be graduating this October. Her entry into the MA program coincided with the Provincial Government鈥檚 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. 鈥淭his 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,鈥� says Cooper.

Her thesis, 鈥淧anic! In the suburbs: Investigating moral configurations of risk, neoliberal rationality, and middle-class anxiety in Maple Ridge, BC鈥� explores the reaction to the homeless encampment 鈥淎nita Place鈥� and the ensuing modular housing proposals. Cooper鈥檚 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 .

In 2019 Cooper began working at the where she is a Research Assistant for the ; in November she鈥檒l 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 , where she helps with research and writing that promote democratic socialist policies in Canada.