Growing up in Chicago at a time when neighbourhoods were going through transitions in ethnic and racial composition,
Richard T. Schaefer found himself increasingly intrigued by what was happening, how people were reacting, and how these changes were affecting neighbourhoods and people’s jobs. His interest in social issues caused him to gravitate to sociology courses at Northwestern University, where he eventually received a BA in sociology. “Originally as an undergraduate I thought I would go on to law school and become a lawyer. But after taking a few sociology courses, I found myself wanting to learn more about what sociologists studied, and fascinated by the kinds of questions they raised.” This fascination led him to obtain his MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago. Dr. Schaefer’s continuing interest in race relations led him to write his master’s thesis on the membership of the Ku Klux Klan and his doctoral thesis on racial prejudice and race relations in Great Britain. Dr. Schaefer went on to become a professor of sociology and now teaches at DePaul University in Chicago. In 2004 he was named to the Vincent DePaul professorship in recognition of his undergraduate teaching and scholarship. He has taught introductory sociology for over 35 years to students in colleges, adult education programs, nursing programs, and even a maximum-security prison. Dr. Schaefer’s love of teaching is apparent in his interaction with his students. “I find myself constantly learning from the students who are in my classes and from reading what they write. Their insights into the material we read or current events that we discuss often become part of future course material and sometimes even find their way into my writing.” Dr. Schaefer is author of the eleventh edition of
Sociology (McGraw-Hill, 2008) and of the fourth edition of
Sociology Matters (McGraw-Hill, 2009). He is also the author of
Racial and Ethnic Groups, now in its eleventh edition, and
Race and Ethnicity in the United States, fifth edition. Together with William Zellner, he co-authored the eighth edition of
Extraordinary Groups, published by Worth in 2007. Dr. Schaefer served as the general editor of the three-volume
Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society, published by Sage in 2008. His articles and book reviews have appeared in many journals, including
American Journal of Sociology,
Phylon: A Review of Race and Culture,
Contemporary Sociology,
Sociology and Social Research,
Sociological Quarterly, and
Teaching Sociology. He served as president of the Midwest Sociological Society in 1994–1995. Dr. Schaefer’s advice to students is to “look at the material and make connections to your own life and experiences. Sociology will make you a more attentive observer of how people in groups interact and function. It will also make you more aware of people’s different needs and interests—and perhaps more ready to work for the common good, while still recognizing the individuality of each person.”
Over the past 30 years,
Dr. Bonnie Haaland has taught sociology to teachers, bankers, and nurses, to new high school graduates, and senior undergraduates at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the University of Regina, and the University of Western Ontario. Teaching introductory sociology as well as other undergraduate sociology courses, she has instructed classes with as many as 350 students and as few as nine, and has used various modes of instruction. Dr. Haaland was one of the first instructors at the University of Western Ontario to teach courses by using distance education technology, which simultaneously connected clusters of students in smaller cities and towns throughout southwestern Ontario. At Western, she later coordinated a program involving distance education, overseeing the delivery of courses in such fields as chemistry, nursing, psychology, anthropology, and English. During this time, Dr. Haaland was actively involved in research related to distance and continuing education, and presenting papers at conferences, such as the International Congress on Distance Education in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Haaland is the author of
Emma Goldman: Sexuality and the Impurity of the State; a co-author of
Sociology: A Brief Introduction, First Canadian Edition, Census Update Edition, Second Canadian Edition, and Third Canadian Edition; and author of articles published in Canadian and U.S. academic journals. She is the recipient of the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education’s Award of Excellence for her article “In Pursuit of Self: The Values of the Post-War Baby Boom Generation and the Implications for Continuing Education.” Bonnie Haaland grew up in Saskatchewan and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a BA (with distinction) and a BA (Hons), from the University of Western Ontario with an MA, and from the University of Toronto with a PhD. She currently lives in South Surrey/White Rock, British Columbia.
