Elizabeth Comack
Elizabeth Comack  Ph.D. Professor
 

 

Degrees

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Alberta, 1984

M.A., Queens University, 1976

B.A., (Honours) University of Winnipeg, 1974

Teaching

My teaching goals and philosophy can be expressed in four separate yet interrelated goals:

  1. The sociological perspective: I encourage students to embrace what C. Wright Mills called ‘the sociological imagination.' This involves making connections between ‘private troubles' and ‘public issues' – between individuals' own experiences and circumstances and the wider social, political, and economic contexts in which they move.
  2. Analytical skills: I often tell students at our first meeting that my job is not to tell them ‘what they think they already know,' but rather to expose them to different ways of making sense of the world around them. Theory is an important ingredient in my courses, especially in terms of developing a critical analysis of pressing social issues.
  3. Social justice: The courses I teach are ones in which social justice issues are front and center. Students are encouraged to develop an awareness of those issues in terms of their historical underpinnings, current context, and future possibilities.
  4. Students as contributors: Because I have spent a good portion of my life studying and thinking about sociology, there is much that I am eager to share with my students. However, students have an important part to play in their own learning process. This means taking an active part in discussions and constructing their own analyses in written assignments.

Courses Taught

I typically teach third-year courses in the Criminology Program in the department ( SOC 3700 and SOC 3790 ) as well as graduate seminars in the Sociology of Law ( SOC 7300 ) and Feminist Criminology (SOC 7450). In addition, I have co-taught a course – with Susan Prentice – entitled ‘Feminism and Sociological Theory' at both the undergraduate ( SOC 3350 ) and graduate ( SOC 7190 ) levels and have recently taught the Honours Thesis Seminar ( SOC 4450).

Graduate Student Supervision

Since joining the Sociology Department at the University of Manitoba in 1990, I have supervised the following students:

Evan Bowness, (MA, 2012) “Racialized Policing in Winnipeg: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Online Public Comments”

Meaghen Boiteau, (MA, 2011) “’I know just what she wants’: Constructing Gender, Sexuality, and Relationships on The Doll Forum”

James Lyons, (MA, 2010) “The Social Impacts of Bed Bugs on Inner-City Residents”

Amelia Curran, (MA, 2010) “The Construction of At-Risk Youth: A Qualitative Study of Community-Based Youth-Serving Agencies”

Jillian McLean, (MA 2008) “Reading Men’s Diaries: A Discursive Analysis of Posts on the World Sex Guide”

Lisa Heshka, (MA, 2008) “From Pathways to Tangled Webs: An Analysis of Girls in Trouble with the Law”

Rana McDonald (MA, 2008) ““The Discord between Policy and Practice: Defence Lawyers' Use of Section 718.2(e) and Gladue" (co-advisor with S. Brickey)

Tracey Peter (PhD, 2006) “Hearing ‘Silent’ Voices: Examining Mother-Daughter Sexual Abuse.” [Recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Dissertation Award, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Manitoba]

Salena Brickey (MA, 2005) “Constituting the Violence of Criminalized Women: Not Mad, Bad or Victim Will Suffice.”

Gillian Balfour (PhD, 2002) "The Practice of Law as Structured Action: The Role of Lawyers in the Criminalization of Violent Men and Women," [(Recipient of the 2004 Social Justice Research Award, St. Paul's College, University of Manitoba]

Vanessa Chopyk (MA, 2001) “Re-examining Gender Disparity in Sentencing: Locating the Sentencing of Offenders in the Criminal Event Framework.”

Lauren Eakin (MA, 2001) “Women, Crack Cocaine Addiction and the Sex Trade Industry: A Standpoint Analysis” (co-advisor with B. Payne).

Linda Wood (MA, 2001) “Caught in the Net of Zero-Tolerance: The Effect of the Criminal Justice Response to Partner Violence.”.

Lisa Murdock (MA, 2001) “Aboriginal Women and Violence: A Standpoint Analysis.”

Wendy Singleton (MA, 2001) “Beyond the Attic Door: A Feminist Social History of Imprisonment at Portage la Prairie Provincial Gaol, 1940-1970.”

Tim Lucas (MA, 1999) “Sexual Orientation and the Law: An Examination of the Discourse in Two Federal Acts in Canada.”

Melanie Nimmo (MA, 1998) “Responding to Female Gang Affiliation: An Analysis of Gender Construction.”

Joanne Minaker (MA, 1998) “Women’s Needs/Available Choices: Juxtaposing the Criminal Justice System Response to Wife Abuse with Women’s Words.”

Jacqueline Bedard (MA, 1995) “Mothers’ Experiences on Social Assistance.”

Kirsten Johnson (MA, 1993) “Undressing the Canadian State: Obscenity Legislation in Canada.” [published as a book by Fernwood Publishing in 1995].

Jane Kitchen (MA, 1993) “Hearing Women’s Voices? An Analysis of the Initial Newspaper Coverage of the Montreal Massacre.”


Research Interests

My research interests can be located within two areas: the sociology of law and feminist criminology. Over the past three decades I have written and researched on topics as diverse as: the origins of Canadian drug laws;  the capital punishment debate; the legal recognition of the ‘Battered Woman Syndrome';  the abuse histories of women in prison; violence, inequality, and the law; safety and security issues in Winnipeg's inner-city communities; masculinity, violence, and prisoning; and racialized policing.  

My current research projects stem from my involvement in the Manitoba Research Alliance, a closely-knit group of academic researchers and community and government partners with extensive networks for research, community development and policy-related activities (see: http://www.manitobaresearchalliance-tiac.ca/). The MRA was recently awarded a SSHRC Partnership grant for a project entitled “Partnering for Change: Community-Based Solutions for Aboriginal and Inner-City Poverty” (John Loxley is the Principal Investigator). The project is broken down into four research streams: justice, safety, and security; housing and neighbourhood revitalization; capacity building, education, and employment; and community economic development. (I am the team leader for the justice, safety, and security stream.) Over the next seven years (2012-2019) we will be undertaking a host of studies to investigate through time the impact of promising community-based solutions to racialized poverty to determine how they can be expanded and made sustainable at the institutional and policy levels.

Publications (since 2000)

Books:

Comack, E. 2012. Racialized Policing: Aboriginal People’s Encounters with the Police. (Foreword by Donald E. Worme, Q.C.) Winnipeg and Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/Racialized-Policing/

Comack, E. 2008. Out There/In Here: Masculinity, Violence, and Prisoning. Winnipeg and Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/Out-There-In-Here-Elizabeth-Comack/

E. Comack (editor). 2006. Locating Law: Race/Class/Gender/Sexuality Connections (2nd edition). Winnipeg and Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/Locating-Law-Second-Edition-Elizabeth-Comack/

G. Balfour and E. Comack (editors). 2006. Criminalizing Women: Gender and (In)justice in Neo-liberal Times. Winnipeg and Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.  http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/Criminalizing-Women-Gillian-Balfour-Elizabeth-Comack/

E. Comack and G. Balfour. 2004. The Power to Criminalize: Violence, Inequality, and the Law. Winnipeg and Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/The-Power-to-Criminalize-Gillian-Balfour-Elizabeth-Comack/

Journal Articles:

Shum, Mona, Elizabeth Comack, Taz Stuart, Reg Ayre, Stèphane Perron, Richard Taki, and Tom Kosatsky. 2012. “Bed Bugs and Public Health: New Approaches for an Old Scourge” Canadian Journal of Public Health 103 (6): 399-403.

Comack, E. and E. Bowness. 2010. “Dealing the Race Card: Public Discourse on the Policing of Winnipeg’s Inner-city Communities.” Canadian Journal of Urban Research vol. 19 no. 1: 34-50.

Comack, E. and M. Seshia. 2010. “Bad Dates and Street Hassles: Violence in the Winnipeg Street Sex Trade” Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 52 (2): 219-30.

E. Comack and J. Silver. 2008. “A Canadian Exception to the Punitive Turn? Community Responses to Policing Practices in Winnipeg’s Inner City.” Canadian Journal of Sociology 33 (4): 815-844.

E. Comack and Selena Brickey. 2007. "Constituting the Violence of Criminalized Women." Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 49 (1): 1-36.

E. Comack and T. Peter. 2005. “How the Criminal Justice System Responds to Sexual Assault Survivors: The Slippage Between Responsibilization and Blaming the Victim.” Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 17 (2): 283-309.

Book Chapters:

Comack, E. 2012. “Feminism and Criminology.” (revised) In R. Linden (General Editor). Criminology: a Canadian Perspective (7th edition). Toronto: Nelson, pages 179-216.

Comack, E. 2011. “Bringing Criminalized Women into View.” In L. Biggs and S. Gingell (Eds.) Gendered Intersections: An Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (2nd ed.). Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, pages 467-71.

Comack, E. 2011.“Producing Feminist Knowledge: Lessons from Women in Trouble.” In Meda Chesney-Lind and Merry Morash (Eds.), Feminist Theories of Crime. London: Ashgate, 2011.

Brickey, Stephen and E. Comack. 2010. “The Role of Law in Social Transformation: Is a ‘Jurisprudence of Insurgency’ Possible?” In Vincent Kazmierski et al. (Eds.) 2010. Introduction to Legal Studies (4th edition). Toronto: Captus Press.

Comack, E. 2008. “Feminism and Criminology.” (revised) In R. Linden (General Editor). Criminology: a Canadian Perspective (6th edition). Toronto: Nelson, pages 183-215.

Comack, E. 2008. "The Sex Question in Criminolgy."  In B. Schissel and C. Brooks (eds.), Marginality and Condemnation: An Introduction to Criminology (second edition) Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, pages 80-100.

Comack, E, V. Chopyk and L. Wood. 2008. "Aren't Women Violent, Too?  The Gendered Nature of Violence." In B. Schissell and C. Brooks (eds.), Marginality and Condemnation: An Introduction to Criminology (second edition). Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, pages 330-49.

E. Comack. 2005. “Coping, Resisting, and Surviving: Connecting Women's Law Violations to Their Histories of Abuse.” In L. Alarid and P. Cromwell (eds.), In Her Own Words: Women Offenders' Views on Crime and Victimization. Los Angeles : Roxbury Publishing, pages 33-43.

E. Comack. 2004. “Feminism and Criminology.” In R. Linden (General Editor), Criminology: a Canadian Perspective (5 th edition). Toronto: Nelson.

E. Comack. 2004. “The Gendering and Racializing of Criminalized Others” In C. Sumner (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to Criminology. London: Blackwell, pages 325-39.

E. Comack. 2002. “Do We Need to Syndromize Women's Experiences? The Limitations of the ‘Battered Woman Syndrome'” In K. McKenna & J. Larkin (eds.) Violence Against Women: New Canadian Perspectives. Toronto : Ianna Publications, pages 277-84.

E. Comack. 2000. “The Prisoning of Women: Meeting Women's Needs?” In K. Hannah-Moffat and M. Shaw (eds.) An Ideal Prison? Critical Essays on Women's Imprisonment in Canada. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, pages 117-127.

Research Reports:

Comack, E. and J. Lyons. 2011. “What Happens When the Bed Bugs Do Bite? The Social Impacts of a Bed Bug Infestation on Winnipeg’s Inner-City Residents.” Winnipeg: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives–Manitoba. Available at: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/offices/manitoba

Curran, A., E. Bowness, and E. Comack. 2010. “Meeting the Needs of Youth: Perspectives from Youth-Serving Agencies.” Winnipeg: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives–Manitoba. Available at: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/offices/manitoba

E. Comack and J. Silver. 2006. Safety and Security in Winnipeg's Inner-City Communities:  Bridging the Community-Police Divide. Winnipeg: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba).  Available at: http://policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=main&call=DA794529

C. Lafreniere, N. Fontaine, and E. Comack. 2005. The Challenge for Change: Realizing the Legacy of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry Report (A position paper presented to the Provincially Appointed Committee for Consultation on a New Women's Correctional Facility in Manitoba). Winnipeg: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba) Available at: http://policyaternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=main&call=DA794529

E. Comack, V. Chopyk and L. Wood. 2000. Mean Streets? The Social Locations, Gender Dynamics and Patterns of Violent Crime in Winnipeg. Winnipeg : Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba).  Available at: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=main&call=DA794529

Policy Papers

Comack, E., L. Deane, L. Morrissette, and J. Silver. 2009. “If You Want to Change Violence in the ‘Hood You Have to Change the ‘Hood: Violence and Street Gangs in Winnipeg’s Inner City. A Report Presented to Honourable Dave Chomiak, Manitoba Minister of Justice and Attorney General, September 10.” Winnipeg: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives–Manitoba. Available at: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/offices/manitoba

Lafreniere, C., N. Fontaine and E. Comack. 2005. “The Challenge for Change: Realizing the Legacy of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry Report” A position paper presented to the Provincially Appointed Committee for Consultation on a New Women’s Correctional Facility in Manitoba. Winnipeg: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba). Available at:  http://www.policyalternatives.ca/offices/manitoba

Elizabeth Fry Society of Manitoba. 2000. “Attending to the Needs of Manitoba Women in Conflict with the Law.” A position paper presented to the Hon. Gordon Mackintosh, Minister of Justice, Manitoba, May.

Other Publications:

Comack, E. 2012. “Reproducing Order: The Policing of Aboriginal Peoples.” Canadian Dimension 46 (3) (May/June): 20-21.

Comack, E. 2011. “Review of Adrian Howe’s ‘Sex, Violence and Crime: Foucault and the ‘Man’ Question.” Theoretical Criminology: An International Journal. 15: 472-475.

Comack, E. and J. Lyons. 2011. “Bed Bugs: A Public Health Problem?” The Purple Paper. Issue 27 (May), 7 pp. Winnipeg: National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases. Available at: http://www.nccid.ca/files/Purple_Paper_27.pdf

Comack, E. L. Deane, L. Morrissette, and J. Silver. 2011. “Reverse the Cuts to Anti-Gang Programs.” Fast Facts, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba), February 8th.

Comack, E. and J. Lyons. 2010. “Winnipeg Needs a Bed Bug Strategy.” Winnipeg Free Press 9 September A10. (Released as a Fast Facts under the title, “Winnipeg Needs a Bed Bug Plan” by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba) on September 9, 2010).

Comack, E., L. Deane, L. Morrissette, and J. Silver. 2010. “If You Want to Change Violence in the ‘Hood You Have to Change the ‘Hood: Violence and Street Gangs in Winnipeg’s Inner City.” Canadian Dimension. 42(2) (March-April): 19-24.

Comack, E., L. Deane, L. Morrissette, and J. Silver. 2009. “Change the ‘Hood.” Winnipeg Free Press 11 September A13.

Comack, E. 2008. “Racialized Policing: Racial context of Dumas shooting must be acknowledged.” Winnipeg Free Press 17 December, A15 (also released as a Fast Facts under the title “Racialized Policing” by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba)  on January 15, 2009).

Comack, E. and J. Silver. 2007. “The Great Divide.” Winnipeg Free Press. 16 January, A 11 (also released as a Fast Facts under the title “Bridging the Community-Police Divide” by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba) on January 18, 2007). 

Comack, E. 2006. “Kids and Crime: We’re Paying the Price for Refusing to Tackle Poverty.” Winnipeg Free Press. 1 November, A15 (also released as a Fast Facts under the title “The Tragedy Runs Deep” by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba) on November 9, 2006).

Comack, E. 2006. “Stop Warehousing Women.” Winnipeg Free Press. 21 January, A15 (Released as a Fast Facts by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba) on February 16, 2006).

Busby, K. and E. Comack. 2002. “Don’t Judge Victims” Winnipeg Free Press. 11 December, A11.

Comack, E., V. Chopyk and L. Wood. 2001. “The Mean Streets of Winnipeg?” Manitoba Alternatives. Volume 1, Issue 2.

Comack, E. 2000. “Battered Women and Self-Defense, Canada.” Encyclopedia of Women and Crime. N. H. Rafter (Editor-in-Chief). Phoenix, Arizona: The Oryx Press.

Comack, E. 2000. “The ‘Mean Streets’ of Winnipeg?” Fast Facts released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba), December.

 

(revised January, 2013)