Peter McMahan

Peter McMahan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at McGill University, part of the Faculty of Arts. His work focuses on communication’s role in shaping social hierarchy and authority, employing computational and statistical methods. He examines how academic publications influence scholarly fields and how ambiguous language affects intellectual discourse. Current research also explores implicit authority structures in small communities and their impact on cultural frames.

His research interests include group dynamics, social hierarchy, computational methods, and text analysis. He teaches courses such as Sociological Perspectives, Sociology of Science, and Networks and Social Structures, emphasizing both theoretical and methodological rigor.

McMahan’s recent publications analyze status ambiguity in adolescent groups, NBA award selection, and the structural consequences of scientific curation. His methodological innovations span network analysis and computational sociology.

He holds office hours at the Stephen Leacock Building and can be reached via peter.mcmahan@mcgill.ca. His website, petermcmahan.com, provides further details on his research and projects.