Courtney Szto, PhD

PhD (Simon Fraser University)

MSc (University of Toronto)

BHK (University of British Columbia)

Contact Information

Undergraduate Courses

KNPE 167 – Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Sport and Physical Activity

KNPE 397 – TBC

HLTH 495 – Sport, Health, and the Environment

Research Summary

My research is largely activist driven and broadly explores the relationship between physical cultures and intersectional justice. I question power relations and try to complicate our understanding of how, when, and where sport and/or physical cultures can be used to address issues of injustice. My doctoral research focused on South Asian experiences in ice hockey. I used the hockey rink as a site to examine cultural citizenship and post-9/11 racial discrimination in Canada. I plan to continue examining “race” and citizenship in Canadian hockey culture by studying the development of ethnically segregated sporting spaces. I am also branching into environmental studies with a critical exploration of how sporting goods are designed and how these decisions impact the end-of-life-stage of products.

Graduate Student Opportunities

I am interested in supervising graduate students working in the areas of (new) media studies, intersectionality/intersectional justice, anti-racism, consumption culture, corporate social responsibility, (cultural) citizenship, fat activism, athlete activism, environmental sustainability/justice, outdoor culture (e.g., hiking, camping, mountaineering, climbing etc.), and public memory. Eligible students are expected to apply for SSHRC, CIHR, OGS and other available scholarship opportunities.

Current Funding

SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2019-2021). “Not so green bikes: A sociological life cycle analysis of bike waste.” Co-applicant, Dr. Brian Wilson, University of British Columbia.

Recent Publications

• Szto, C., Pegoraro, A., Morris, E., Desrochers, M., Emard, K., Gamble, A. et al. (forthcoming). #ForTheGame: Social change and the struggle to professionalize women’s ice hockey. Sociology of Sport Journal.

• Szto, C. (2020). Changing on the Fly: Hockey through the voices of South Asian Canadians. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

• Bains, A. & Szto, C. (2020). Brown skin, white ice: South Asian specific hockey programming in Canada. South Asian Popular Culture. [online first]

• Norman, M., Esmonde, K., & Szto, C. (2019). Public sociology of sport and digital media: A self-reflexive analysis of public engagement in the “hockey blogosphere.” Sociology of Sport Journal, 36(2), 135-143.

• Szto, C. & Gruneau, R.(2018). The Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi Broadcast: A case study in ethnic sports media. In J. Anderson & J. Ellison (eds.), Hockey: Challenging Canada’s game. Ottawa-Gatineau: University of Ottawa Press.
• MacDonald, C., Szto, C. & Edwards, J.(2017). The Game That No One Saw: Evaluating the cultural citizenship and legitimacy of women’s professional hockey through the Inaugural Women’s Winter Classic. In A. Milner & J.H. Braddock II (eds.), Women in Sports: Breaking Barriers, Facing Obstacles. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
• Hayhurst, L.M.C. & Szto, C.(2016). Corporatizing activism through sport-focused social justice?: Investigating Nike’s Corporate Responsibility initiatives in Sport for Development and Peace. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 40(6), 522-544.
• Gray, S. & Szto, C.(2016).A reflection of reality? The consumption and reproduction of obesity discourses by The Biggest Loser viewers through Facebook.The Journal of Social Media in Society, 5(3), 214-243.
• Szto, C.(2016).#LOL at multiculturalism: Reactions to Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi from the Twitterverse. Sociology of Sport Journal, 33(3), 208-218.
• Szto, C.(2015). Serving up change? Gender mainstreaming and the UNESCO-WTA partnership for global gender equality. Sport in Society, 18(8), 895-908.
• Norman, M., Ventresca, M., Szto, C. & Darnell, S.(2015). ‘Driving to the Net’: Frames and politics in the New York Islanders’ stadium saga.Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 39(1), 19-39. doi: 10.1177/0193723514541282
• Szto, C. & Gray, S.(2015). Forgive me Father for I have thinned: Surveilling the bio-citizen through Twitter. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 7(3), 321-337.  doi: 10.1080/2159676X.2014.938245
• Szto, C.(2013). Saving lives with soccer and shoelaces: The hyperreality of Nike (RED).Sociology of Sport Journal, 30,
• Donnelly, P., Atkinson, M., Boyle, S. & Szto, C.(2011).Sport for development and peace:A public sociology perspective.Third World Quarterly, 32(3), 589-601.