Vic Satzewich

Professor of Sociology, McMaster University
Vic Satzewich is Professor of Sociology at McMaster University. Over the course of his career he has studied various aspects of immigration and race and ethnic relations, including policy origins of the Caribbean and Mexican Seasonal Agricultural Workers Movement, the Ukrainian diaspora, immigrant settlement services in Hamilton, racial profiling and policing, transnational identities and practices, and Indian Agents. His most recent SSHRC funded project is a study of Canada’s overseas immigrant selection system.

Expertise:

1) Immigration and Administrative Discretion. This SSHRC-funded project involves, in part, an analysis of how overseas immigration officers understand and apply their discretionary authority when it comes to assessing applications for both permanent and temporary residence in Canada. This is an ongoing project where I have been visiting Canada’s overseas visa offices to better understand how local contexts shape the way that visa officers decide on who gets into Canada.

2) The International Union of the Save the Children Fund. Founded in the aftermath of the First World War, the International Union of the Save the Children Fund, was a pioneer in the field of children's rights and international child welfare. In collaboration with Professor Linda Mahood (History, University of Guelph), we are interested in the ways in which the International Union framed issues of international child welfare. We are also examining the Union's fund raising strategies and techniques, and its relationships with other child welfare governmental and non-governmental organizations.

3) Policing, Minorities and Immigration. This refers to a cluster of projects that I have been doing with my colleague William Shaffir. Over the past several years, we have been variously interested in policing and racial profiling, and how police services in small and medium sized cities in Ontario understand the challenges and opportunities associated with the presence of a more diverse array of immigrants in their respective communities.