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I received a PhD in Communication and Culture from the interdisciplinary joint program at TMU/York in 2008. My MA and BA are in Political Science (from the University of Saskatchewan and University of Toronto).
My teaching and research focus on the big questions of how we organize ourselves in society. How did today's inequalities come to be "normal," and why do so many people go along with the status quo so much of the time? Who actively resists -- why, when, and how? What would it look like to live in a truly democratic, socially just, and ecologically sustainable society? How do we get from here to there?
I'm a staff writer at the Hamilton Review of Books, and the Community Relations Director for the Riverside Reading Series, based in Paris, ON.
I'm currently writing a collection of essays around the theme of crisis.
I am not supervising students at the moment.
Books
- Cairns, James. In Crisis, On Crisis: Essays in Troubled Times. Under contract with Wolsak & Wynn. To be published in 2025.
- Cairns, James. The Myth of the Age of Entitlement: Millennials, Austerity, and Hope. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (2017).
- Sears, Alan and James Cairns. A good book, in theory: Making sense through inquiry. 3rd ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (2015)
- Cairns, James, and Alan Sears. The democratic imagination: Envisioning popular power in the 21st century. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (2012)
- Sears, Alan, and James Cairns. A good book, in theory: Making sense through inquiry. 2nd ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (2010)
Scholarly articles & book reviews
- Cairns, James, "Why Do Lefties Write? Pimlott's Take on Marxism Today Raises Questions of Strategic Communication Today." Accepted for publication, forthcoming (2025) in Rethinking Marxism.
- Cairns, James, "The Crisis of Democracy Archive," Canadian Journal of Communication 49(1): 146-58, 2024.
- Cairns, James, "Blackout Autotheory," TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies 47(Sept.): 323-44, 2023.
- Cairns, James, Review of Peter Lamb, Socialism: Key Concepts in Political Theory (Polity: Cambridge, 2019). Marx & Philosophy Review of Books (31 March 2020), https://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviews/17896_socialism-key-concepts-in-political-theory-by-peter-lamb-reviewed-by-james-cairns/.
- Sears, Alan, and James Cairns, “Schooling Goes to Market: The Consolidation of Lean Education in Ontario,” in G. Albo and B.A. Evans (eds), Divided Province: Ontario Politics in the Age of Neoliberalism (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019), pp. 394-419.
- Cairns, James, Review of Jodi Dean, Crowds and Party (London: Verso, 2016). Marx & Philosophy Review of Books (7 February 2017), http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviews/2017/2631.
- Cairns, James, and Susan Ferguson, “Political truths: The Case of Pro-Palestine Discourse in Canada,” in G. Ageel (ed.), Apartheid in Palestine: Hard Laws and Harder Experiences (University of Alberta Press, 2016), pp. 181-198.
- Cairns, James, “Common Sense on Campus: Disaffected Consent in the Age of Austerity,” Studies in Political Economy, 96(Autumn):123-143, 2015.
- Cairns, James, Review of Chris Dixon, Another Politics: Talking Across Today’s Transformative Movements (Oakland: University of California Press, 2014). Labour/Le Travail. 76(Fall):291-293, 2015.
- Cairns, James, “‘A Parliament of Man Become a Parliament of Women’: Performing Femininity and the State Through Mediated Civic Ritual in Ontario, 1900-1940,” Journal of Historical Sociology. 27(1):23-47, 2014.
- Cairns, James, and Susan Ferguson, “The Truth in Embodied Stories,” Journal of Canadian Studies. 46(2):221-244, 2012.
- Cairns, James, and Susan Ferguson, “Human Rights Revisionism and the Canadian Parliamentary Committee to Combat Antisemitism,” Canadian Journal of Communication. 36(3):415-434, 2011.
- Cairns, James, “From Social Celebration to Social Deliberation: The Rise of Liberal-Pluralist Symbolism in Ontario,” Canadian Journal of Communication. 35(3):395-412, 2010.
- Cairns, James, “Politics? Fear Not!: The Rise of ‘The Average Superhero’ in the Visual Rhetoric of Bill Davis’ 1971 Election Pamphlet,” in G. Allen and D.J. Robinson (eds), Communicating in Canada’s past: Essays in media history (University of Toronto Press, 2009), pp. 194-230.
Essays & book reviews (non-academic)
- Cairns, James, "My Struggle and My Struggle," in Emily Urquhart (ed.), Best Canadian Essays: 2025 (Windsor: Biblioasis, 2024), 56-60.
- Cairns, James, "On Fearing Uncertainty: Parenting Amid the Eco-Crisis," The Montreal Review (July 2023), https://www.themontrealreview.com/Articles/On_Fearing_Uncertainty_Parenting_Amid_the_Eco_Crisis.php.
- Cairns, James, "My Struggle and My Struggle," Canadian Notes & Queries 112 (Fall 2022 / Winter 2023), 22-3.
- Cairns, James, "On the Pleasures of Reading the Apocalypse," Hamilton Review of Books (8 November 2022), https://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/blog/2022/11/08/on-the-pleasures-of-reading-the-apocalypse.
- Cairns, James, "It's About Time." Review of Andrew Potter's On Decline (Windsor: Biblioasis, 2021) and Stephen Dale's Shift Change: Scenes from a Post-Industrial Revolution (Toronto: Between the Lines, 2021). Hamilton Review of Books (Fall 2021), https://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/blog/2021/11/30/its-about-time-james-cairns-reviews-andrew-potters-on-decline-and-stephen-dales-shift-change-scenes-from-a-post-industrial-revolution.
- Cairns, James, “This is Your Land? What Matters Now, Fall 2020,” Hamilton Review of Books (Fall 2020), http://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/blog/2020/11/16/this-land-is-your-land-what-matters-now-fall-2020.
- Cairns, James, “Leader of the Fourth World.” Review of Peter McFarlane with Doreen Manuel: Brotherhood to Nationhood: George Manuel and the Making of the Modern Indian Movement (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2020). Hamilton Review of Books (Fall 2020), http://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/blog/2020/11/16/the-leader-of-the-fourth-world-james-cairns-reviews-peter-mcfarlanes-with-doreen-manuel-brotherhood-to-nationhood-george-manuel-and-the-making-of-the-modern-indian-movement.
- Cairns, James, “Being Black in White Spaces.” Review of Kiley Reid, Such a Fun Age (GP Putnam’s Sons, 2020). Spring Magazine (14 September 2020), https://springmag.ca/such-a-fun-age-being-black-in-white-spaces.
- Lee, Adam, and James Cairns, “The Police Cannot Be Reformed,” Spring Magazine (2 September 2020), https://springmag.ca/the-police-cannot-be-reformed.
- Cairns, James, “HWDSB Kids Need Help Organizers Reflect on a Victory,” Spring Magazine (5 August 2020), https://springmag.ca/hwdsb-kids-need-help-organizers-reflect-on-a-victory.
- Cairns, James, “Students Kick Cops Out of Schools in Hamilton,” Spring Magazine (23 June 2020), https://springmag.ca/students-kick-cops-out-of-schools-in-hamilton.
- Cairns, James, “The Movement for Black Lives and the Struggle for Democracy,” Spring Magazine (17 June 2020), https://springmag.ca/the-movement-for-black-lives-and-the-struggle-for-democracy.
- Cairns, James, “Reading Crisis: What Matters Now, Spring 2020,” Hamilton Review of Books (Spring 2020), http://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/blog/2020/5/15/reading-crisis-introducing-what-matters-now-spring-2020.
- Cairns, James, “Getting Schooled.” Review of Paul Bocking, Public Education, Neoliberalism, and Teachers: New York, Mexico City, Toronto (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2020). Hamilton Review of Books (Spring 2020), http://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/blog/2020/05/15/getting-schooled-james-cairns-reviews-paul-bockings-public-education-neoliberalism-and-teachers-new-york-mexico-city-toronto.
- Cairns, James, “Fuller Democracy.” Review of Roslyn Fuller, In Defence of Democracy (Cambridge: Polity, 2019). Hamilton Review of Books (Fall 2019), http://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/blog/2019/11/22/fuller-democracy-james-cairns-reviews-roslyn-fullers-in-defence-of-democracy.
- Cairns, James, “Mothering Through the Pandemic,” Spring Magazine (13 April 2020), https://springmag.ca/mothering-through-the-pandemic.
- Cairns, James, “There is an Alternative,” Spring Magazine (30 March 2020), https://springmag.ca/there-is-an-alternative.
- Cairns, James, “Fearing and Hoping for a Crisis of Democracy,” Hamilton Review of Books (5 February 2020), http://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/blog/2019/02/05/fearing-and-hoping-for-a-crisis-of-democracy.
- Cairns, James, “Welcome to ‘What Matters Now’,” Hamilton Review of Books (27 September 2019), http://hamiltonreviewofbooks.com/what-matters-now-blog/2019/9/27/welcome-to-what-matters-now.
- Cairns, James, “Where Are the Truly Bold Ideas?” Hamilton Spectator (8 September 2019).
- Cairns, James, “The Myth of Conservative Persecution On Campus,” Hamilton Spectator (16 August 2019), https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/9552150-the-myth-of-conservative-persecution-on-campus/.
- Cairns, James, “Why Socialism is Back in Fashion,” Hamilton Spectator (23 July 2019), https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/9515945-why-socialism-is-back-in-fashion/.
- Cairns, James, “Defining Fascism – and Shutting it Down,” Hamilton Spectator (3 July 2019), https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/9485379-defining-fascism-and-shutting-it-down/.
- Cairns, James, “Why Democracy Depends on Entitlement,” Hamilton Spectator (21 June 2019), https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/9447920-why-democracy-depends-on-entitlement/.
- Cairns, James, “The Future From the Top of Kenilworth Stairs,” Hamilton Spectator (5 June 2019), https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/9410172-the-future-from-the-top-of-kenilworth-stairs/.
- Cairns, James, “The Real Attack on Democracy in Canada,” New Socialist Webzine (4 November 2014).
- Cairns, James, “Austerity With a Smile: The 2014 Ontario Election,” New Socialist Webzine (17 June 2014).
- Sears, Alan, and James Cairns, “Austerity U: Preparing Students for Precarious Lives,” The Bullet, no. 932 (29 January 2014), http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/932.php.
- Cairns, James, “The Neo-Liberalization of Social Democracy.” Review of Bryan Evans and Ingo Schmidt (eds.), Social Democracy After the Cold War (AU Press, 2012). New Socialist Webzine (30 August 2013).
- Cairns, James, “Why are the Harper Conservatives So Pro-Israel?” The Bullet, no. 820 (14 May 2013), http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/820.php.
- Cairns, James, “What Can We Learn from the Québec Student Movement?” Brant Advocate (January 2013), http://www.brantadvocate.com/what-can-we-learn-from-the-quebec-student-movement-dr-james-cairns/.
- Cairns, James, “Democracy in the Age of Austerity: Beyond the Robocall Scandal,” The Bullet, no. 620 (20 April 2012b), http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/620.php.
- Sears, Alan, and James Cairns, “Turning the Tide: In the Wake of a Conservative Victory in The Recent Election, How Will We Mobilize to Resist the Coming Wave of Neo-Liberal Austerity?” Briarpatch 40(4):5-7, 2011.
- Sears, Alan, and James Cairns, “Canada’s Federal Election 2011: Should Radicals Care?” New Socialist Webzine (25 April 2011).
Courses I will teach in 2024-25
- PO101, Politics Within Borders
- SOJE100, Social and Environmental Justice in the 21st Century
- LY300, Perspectives on Justice
- LY410, The Crisis Today
Recent courses taught
- BF190, "Modernity and the Contemporary World"
- SOJE255, "The Democratic Imagination"
- SOJE457, "Millennials: Overly Entitled or Generation Screwed?"
Contact Info:
Office location: RCW317
Office hours:
Fall 2024 --> Mondays, 4:00-5:00pm; Thursdays, 12:00-1:00pm; or by appointment