Bonar Buffam

Bonar Buffam is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Sociology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. He is affiliated with the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and serves as a graduate student supervisor in the Power, Conflict and Ideas theme of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies program. His work focuses on race, empire, socio-legal studies, religion, and urban geographies.

Buffam holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver), an MA from the University of Alberta, and a BA from Simon Fraser University. His research explores intersections of law, race, and state power, including projects such as the SSHRC-funded study on religious minorities in Western Canada (2018–2021).

His publications analyze topics like legal regulation of Sikh gurdwaras, racial dynamics in criminal justice systems, and the sociological implications of public celebrations like Vaisakhi. He teaches courses such as Foundations of Sociological Thought, True Crime Sociology, and the Sociology of Religion, with a focus on critical theory and empirical case studies.

Buffam supervises graduate research on themes including religion and secularism, cultural criminology, and social theory. His collaborative projects include work on 'Aesthetic Sociologies' with Heidi Bickis and Ondine Park. His interdisciplinary approach bridges historical analysis with contemporary socio-legal challenges.