Caroline McDonald-Harker

Arts_Bio_Photo_ Caroline

Office: B349V

Phone: 403-440-8753

E-mail: cmcdonaldharker@mtroyal.ca

EDUCATION:

Ph.D. Sociology, University of Alberta (Recipient of SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship)
M.A. Sociology, McGill University
B.A. (Honours) Sociology, Queen’s University

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker is a Sociologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology.  She is also the Director of the Centre for Community Disaster Research (CCDR), and a Research Associate with the Institute for Environmental Sustainability (IES).

 


AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
 

Dr. Caroline McDonald-Harker’s areas of expertise and research include: the sociology of disasters; families; parenthood/parenting; children & youth; trauma and resilience; mental health; gender; domestic violence/abuse; and quantitative and qualitative research methods.  Over the last five years Dr. McDonald-Harker has conducted three large-scale disaster research studies funded by external research grants totaling over 1.9 million dollars.  Dr. McDonald-Harker is regularly interviewed by local, national, and international media including CBC, CTV, Global News, The National, The Globe and Mail, and Huffington Post, among others, to provide her expert opinion on sociological topics in her areas of expertise.


COURSES TAUGHT:
 

SLGY 1101: Introduction to Sociology
SLGY 2233: Sociology of Gender
SLGY 2271: Sociology of Families
SLGY 3323: Qualitative Research Methods
SLGY 3335: Gender and Work
SLGY 5110: Honours Research I
SLGY 5120: Honours Research II


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Books: 

McDonald-Harker, Caroline.  2016.  Mothering in Marginalized Contexts: Narratives of Women Who Mother in and Through Domestic Violence.  Bradford, ON: Demeter Press, 294 pages. 

Book Chapters: 

McDonald-Harker, Caroline.  2019.  “Making the Invisible Visible: Abused Women’s Mothering Experiences.” Pp. 255–265 in Routledge Companion to Motherhood, edited by Lynn O’Brien Hallstein, Andrea O’Reilly and Melinda Vandenbeld Giles. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 

McDonald-Harker, Caroline.  2015.  “Mothering in the Context of Domestic Abuse and Encounters with Child Protection Services: From Victimized to “Criminalized” Mothers.” Pp. 323–354 in Criminalized Mothers: Criminalizing Motherhood edited by Joanne Minaker and Bryan Hogeveen.  Toronto, ON: Demeter Press. 

Journal Articles: 

Drolet, Julie L., Caroline McDonald-Harker, Nasreen Lalani, Sarah McGreer, Matthew R. G.Brown, and Peter H. Silverstone.  (Forthcoming). “Early Childhood Development Challenges in the Aftermath of the 2016 Wildfire in Alberta, Canada,” Journal on Education in Emergencies. 

McDonald-Harker, Caroline, Julie L. Drolet, Sean Colvin, and Anna Iliscupidez. (2021). “The Role of Sport in Building Resilience Among Children and Youth Impacted by Disaster.” The International Journal of Sport and Society 12(1): 33-51. https://doi.org/10.18848/2152-7857/CGP/v12i01/33-51

Drolet, Julie L., Caroline McDonald-Harker, Nasreen Lalani, Meagan McNichol, Matthew R. G. Brown, and Peter H. Silverstone.  (2020). “Social, Economic, and Health Effects of the 2016 Alberta Wildfires: Pediatric Resilience.” Journal of Disaster Research 15(7): 833-844. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2020.p0833

McDonald-Harker, Caroline, Emilie M. Bassi, and Timothy J. Haney.  2020. “We Need to Do Something About This: Children and Youth’s Post-Disaster Views on Climate Change and Environmental Crisis.” Sociological Inquiry (Early View). https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12381

Drolet, Julie L., Caroline McDonald-Harker, Nasreen Lalani, and Julia Tran.  2020. “Impacts of the 2013 Flood on Immigrant Children, Youth, and Families in Alberta, Canada.” International Journal of Social Work 7(1): 57–74. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijsw.v7i1.16872

Brown, Matthew R. G., Vincent Agyapong, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Ivor Cribben, Pamela Brett-MacLean, Julie Drolet, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Joy Omeje, Monica Mankowsi, Shannon Noble, Deborah T. Kitching, and Peter H. Silverstone.  2019.  “Significant PTSD and Other Mental Health Effects Present 18 Months After the Fort McMurray Wildfire: Findings from 3,070 Grades 7-12 Students.” Frontiers Psychiatry 10(623): 1–14.  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00623

Brown, Matthew R. G., Vincent Agyapong, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Ivor Cribben, Pamel Brett-MacLean, Julie Drolet, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Joy Omeje, Monica Mankowsi, Shannon Noble, Deborah T. Kitching, and Peter H. Silverstone.  2019.  “After the Fort McMurray Wildfire There Are Significant Increases in Mental Health Symptoms in Grade 7-12 Students Compared to Controls.” BMC Psychiatry 19(18): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-2007-1

Drolet, Julie, Caroline McDonald-Harker, Amy Fulton, and Anna Iliscupidez.  2018.  “Art-Informed Research with Children and Youth in a Post-flood Community,” The International Journal of Social, Political and Community Agendas in the Arts 13(1): 39–50. 
https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v13i03/39-50

Haney, Timothy J. and Caroline McDonald-Harker.  2017.  “‘The River Is Not the Same Anymore’: Environmental Risk and Uncertainty in the Aftermath of the High River, Alberta Flood.” Social Currents 4(6): 594–612.

 

SELECTED RESEARCH GRANT FUNDING: 

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).  Operating Grant: Health Effects of the Alberta Wildfires – Pediatric Resiliency.  2016-2020.  “The Health Effects of the Alberta Wildfire and Evacuation: Pediatric Resiliency.” Role: Principal Investigator.  In collaboration with Dr. Peter Silverstone, University of Alberta (Nominated Principal Investigator); Dr. Vincent Agyapong, University of Alberta (Principal Investigator); and Dr. Julie Drolet, University of Calgary (Principal Investigator). $500,000.

Centre for Community Disaster Research (CCDR), Mount Royal University.  Quick Response Grant.  2016-2017.  “A Peer Support and Mentoring Pilot Project for Community Service Providers and Children/Youth in Fort McMurray, Alberta: Developing Collaborative Support for Community Resilience and Disaster Recovery.” Role: Principal Investigator.  In collaboration with Dr. Julie Drolet, University of Calgary (Co-Researcher); and Dr. Robin Cox, Royal Roads University (Co-Researcher).  $15,000.

Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS).  Collaborative Research and Innovation Opportunities (CRIO).  2015-2019.   “Alberta Resilient Communities Research Project: Engaging Children and Youth in Community Resilience Post-flood in Southern Alberta.”  Role: Collaborative Co-Lead.  In collaboration with Dr. Julie Drolet, University of Calgary (Collaborative Lead); and Dr. Robin Cox, Royal Roads University.  $1,059,716.  https://arcproject.ca/

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).  Partnership Development Grant - Community and College Social Innovation Fund.  2015-2019.  “Social Innovation on the Ground: Accessible and Evidence-Based Tools for Social Innovators.”  Role: Collaborator.  In collaboration with Russ Wilde, Bow Valley College (Principal Investigator); Augusto V.C. Legaspi, Bow Valley College (Co-Researcher); Scott H. Henwood, Bow Valley College (Co-Researcher); Timothy J. Loblaw, Bow Valley College (Co-Researcher); Corinne Finnie, Bow Valley College (Collaborator); Lisa Reinders, Town of High River (Collaborator); Tricia Donovan, eCampus Alberta (Collaborator).  $198,245.  

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).  Partnership Development Grant.  2014-2018.  “The Effects of Environmental Disasters on the Family: Communicating, Coping, and Caring Among Families Impacted by the 2013 High River Alberta Floods.”  Role: Principal Investigator. In collaboration with Dr. Timothy Haney, Mount Royal University (Co-Researcher).  $165,336.

Institute for Environmental Sustainability (IES), Mount Royal University.  Environmental Sustainability Research Grant.  2014-2015.  “The Effects and Implications of Environmental Disasters on the Family and Communities, and Ensuring Environmental and Social Sustainability: Communicating, Coping, and Caring Among Families Impacted by the 2013 High River Alberta Floods.”  Role: Principal Investigator.  In collaboration with Dr. Timothy Haney, Mount Royal University (Co-Researcher).  $19,800.