Current PhD Students

Baran (Abu) Fakhri

Baran Fakhri is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Simon Fraser University, Canada. In their ongoing doctoral research, they work with undocumented Afghan migrants (of the Hazara community) in Turkey. Through ethnography, they follow these Afghans in their migration journey from Afghanistan to Iran, Turkey, and Europe exploring their narratives of displacement, mobility, and ‘illegality.’ Their research areas are ‘irregular’ migration and labour, borders and ‘illegality,’ with a focus on memory, refugee (political) subjectivity, and forced migration temporalities. 

Education: 
PhD candidate (Sociology): Simon Fraser University
MA (Anthropology): University of Tehran

Supervisor: Lindsey Freeman
Committee member: Kathleen Millar

Zhexi Hu

Area of study: Gender sociology; qualitative methods; lesbian and bisexual women in mainland China; mixed-orientation marriages (MOMs)

Hi there! I did my undergraduate in the University of Oregon with a major in sociology and minor in Arabic and Scandinavian studies. I did my master’s at the University of Edinburgh and my research focused on how studying in the United States change Chinese international students perceptions on sex and homosexuality. After obtaining my master’s, I worked in Beijing as a photographer and videographer for 4 years before coming back to university to do a PhD. My current research focuses on lesbian and bisexual women and their experiences in mixed-orientation marriage. I hope to shed light on heterosexual men who are in mixed-orientation marriages also known as Tongfu (同夫 in Chinese) community in mainland China. Interesting fact about me: I speak Chinese, English, Arabic, and Swedish. I am also intermediate in Norwegian.

Supervisor: Travers
Committee Member: Darren Byler

Steffanie Ling

Areas of study: land dispossession and cultural labour, heterodox Marxism, solidarity studies, political economy

Steffanie graduated with a BFA in Critical and Cultural Practices with a minor in Curatorial Studies from Emily Carr University. Her research project will undertake a workers’ inquiry surveying the labour conditions of art workers in connection to toxic philanthropy and extractive industries in the non-profit cultural sector. 

She currently works as a research assistant in Labour Studies and School of Communications on projects related to precarity, migrant labour, and essential work. 

Sometimes, she publishes art criticism and organizes the occasional film screening. Her books are NASCAR (Blank Cheque, 2016) and MIXED MARTIAL ARTS (House House Press, 2022). For fun, she studies Japanese, practices basketball, and organizes study groups on Discord. 

Supervisor: Kendra Strauss
Committee member: Kyle Willmott

Student Profile

Clarissa Cecilia Mijares

Clarissa entered the PhD program in Sociology in the Fall of 2022.

Supervisor: Lindsey Freeman

Mariana Pinzon-Caicedo

Areas of study: Sociology of Development, Inequality & Exclusion

Mariana is a second-year PhD student in Sociology at the department. Her research will focus on a critical analysis of poverty reduction strategies.Prior to joining SFU as a Sociology Student, Mariana worked at the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Labour Organization, with positions both at headquarters and the field, where she was involved in the design and evaluation of social policies and programs tailored to promote full inclusion of all groups in society. Mariana holds an MA in Sociology from Simon Fraser University (SFU), an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a BSc in Economics from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. 

Supervisor: Travers
Committee member: Kathleen Millar