I’m an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Western University. My research interests include sociological theory, social policy, and poverty, and my empirical work, qualitative, quantitative, and historical, has examined the impact of basic income on a range of outcomes, from wages and work to social stigma and gender dynamics. My research has been published in Socio-economic Review, Sociological Theory, British Journal of Sociology, European Sociological Review, Social Problems, Catalyst, Historical Materialism, Canadian Review of Sociology, Canadian Journal of Sociology, Contexts, Sociology Compass, Basic Income Studies, and Social Science History. I have a new book project on the welfare state, collective action, and how social change succeeds and fails. A second book project (with Michael McCarthy) analyzes and reconstructs the social theory of Erik Olin Wright.

Western faculty page: https://sociology.uwo.ca/people/profiles/Calnitsky-In-Depth-Profile.html

Some recent public sociology:

2024. “Evidence from the Mincome Experiment.” Webinar on Examining the long term impact of cash transfer programs, Institute for Research on Poverty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5zYK9Iwk18

2024. Five Interconnections of Race and Class. Presentation with Michael Billeaux-Martinez. Caste, Class, and Race, The Oliver Cromwell Cox Conference, St. Augustine, Trinidad.

2023. Keynote presentation: “The Politics of Basic Income”. Spanish Symposium on Universal Basic
Income, University of Lleida and Spanish Basic Income Network, Barcelona, Spain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPM5M4cW3h4

Presented “Basic Income Experiments” at European Commission workshop on Real Utopias for a Social Europe (with Pilar Gonalons-Pons), June 2022.

2021 Keynote presentation, “Basic Income and the Labour Market” at Basic Income Pilots and Experiments Around the World conference, The BABEL (Basic Income in Belgium) Project, September 23.

Dec. 23, 2020 Guest speaker on The Jacobin Show, “Understanding Class and Exploitation,” streamed live on YouTube.  View recorded episode on YouTube.

Apr. 17, 2020 Guest speaker in Jacobin Magazine’s Stay at Home episode 21, “Debates on Feasible Socialism,” streamed live on YouTube .  View recorded episode on YouTube.

Apr. 28, 2020 “Should Cash Transfers Used as an Emergency Response Be Universal or Targeted?” Updates from the Lab, Stanford Basic Income Lab

Mar. 27, 2020 “Basic Income in a Pandemic and Beyond” Jacobin

May 28, 2020 “Interview on basic income” This Week in Sociological Perspective, with Samuel R. Lucas

Apr. 16, 2020 “Experts: Pandemic making economic future uncertain” Western News

Dec. 2019 “Junior Faculty Spotlight” ASA IPM Section Newsletter

Mar. 12, 2019 “Socialism Today” The Annex Sociology podcast

Jan. 24. 2019 “A Model for Us All” Jacobin.

Aug. 2019 “Reflections on Erik Olin Wright,” ASA, New York City. Talk begins at 1:10:00.

email: dcalnits at uwo.ca