Steven Downing, PhD

Associate Professor
Criminology
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities

Dr. Downing's current research considers how crime and deviance are framed, enacted, and may evolve in the emerging metaverse.

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Full biography

Methodologist and Theoretician, Steven Downing, PhD, applies theories of crime to online and real-life settings, where he qualitatively examines subcultural and social control constructs surrounding deviant and criminal behaviour. An Associate Professor in the Legal Studies Program of the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, his interdisciplinary research agenda spans legal studies, criminology, and sociology; and focuses on the intersection between society, culture, and digital and emerging technology. He strives to develop an understanding of how the digital world overlaps with cultural issues. Co-creator of UOIT’s Digital Life Research Group, his collaborative cyberbullying research has been widely cited. Dr. Downing’s latest research examines adult bullying within the context of reality television, and includes a case study of a reality TV celebrity who has been victimized both on- and off-screen. He aims to shed light on the need for enhanced rights and protection from exploitation, harassment and maltreatment from the public, production companies and studios among North America’s reality TV labour force. He will further study the bullying of individuals in the public eye through social media. Immersed in another critical body of research, Dr. Downing explores the policy and contemporary issues of racial profiling and police violence within Canada’s Greater Toronto Area. Through indepth offender interviews, his qualitative study of the factors that determine whether offenders in high-crime neighbourhoods decide to co-operate with police, led to his published research on the ‘Stop Snitching Code.’ His research continues to inform debate, and explore ways for the public to gain police trust through possible citizen review boards and mediation. Interested in the critical assessment of injustices within the system, he completed his Bachelor of Arts in Crime and Justice Studies; his Master of Science in Applied Sociology, during which he was awarded a three-year graduate fellowship; and his Doctorate in Criminology, all at the University of Texas at Dallas. Following a year as an Assistant Professor in the School of Behavioral Sciences at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Downing joined UOIT as an Assistant Professor in 2008, and was appointed Associate Professor in 2014. He has helped shape UOIT’s highly method- and theory-focused Legal Studies program, and is passionate about supervising the work of graduate students.

Areas of expertise

Game studies cyberbullying Cybercrime Law and society Law enforcement Criminology deviant subcultures Informal social control Property crime

Courses

SSCI 2920U
Qualitative Research Methods
This course is a survey of qualitative research methods. Students will be introduced to the historical, theoretical, epistemological, and ethical foundations of qualitative research. The course will provide a survey of major qualitative approaches such as: interview, focus group, observation, unobtrusive methods, and action research.
CRMN 4021U
Cybercrime
Cybercrime is an expansive concept that typically relates to crimes committed through, on, or involving the internet, but also increasingly applies to internet connected devices. This course approaches cybercrime from a sociological perspective, exploring topics such as offender motivation, organization, and societal and criminal justice responses. The course also critically interrogates the nature, extent and scope of cybercrime (and deviance), considering whether and to what extent formal and informal reactions are appropriate and warranted. The changing landscape of digital life is also explored, particularly as it relates to the intersection between private, public and institutional use of technology, vulnerabilities, and criminal behaviour/victimization.
SSCI 3920U
Advanced Qualitative Methods
This course provides an opportunity to learn about selected qualitative methods in depth and gain practical experience applying them to a research project. Students will learn how to plan and conduct a qualitative research project from start to finish. Historical, theoretical, epistemological, and ethical foundations of selected methods will be explored in depth.
CRMN 4099U
Criminology and Justice Integrating Project
This course is designed to allow students to develop a project in criminology and justice, which pulls together the key themes of the program, namely, theory, research and policy. Emphasis will be placed on independent scholarly inquiry reflective of a qualitative, quantitative, theoretical, or policy approach. Throughout this process, students will be expected to demonstrate an advanced level of understanding based on their previous course work in this program. The integrating project provides students with the opportunity, under the guidance of a faculty member, to synthesize and apply knowledge gained throughout their program of study. The students will set topics and approaches based on their areas of interest.

Education

Speaking engagements

Washington, DC December 31, 1969
Prison-Themed Video Games: Peacemaking and Social Justice Opportunities
71st Annual Meeting of American Society of Criminology
San Francisco, California December 31, 1969
Methods of Studying Cyberbullying: Critiques and New Directions
70th Annual Meeting of American Society of Criminology
Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec December 31, 1969
Racialized Borders: Hypothesizing the Diasporic Implications of Discriminatory Surveillance at Canadian Borders
Borders, Walls and Security Conference
Chicago, Illinois December 31, 1969
Panel Chair, Advances in Qualitative Methods in Criminology, Space, Time and Reflexive Interviewing: Implications for Qualitative Criminology
68th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Washington, DC December 31, 1969
Why did “Cyberbullying” Supersede Hate Crime? Mass Distraction and the Tyler Clementi Case
67th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology

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