Jen Wrye

Faculty/Departments: Humanities, Social Sciences

Positions/Titles: Faculty

Area of Expertise: Sociology

Jen Wrye is a broadly trained sociologist with expertise in food studies, animal-human relations, teaching and pedagogy and social justice studies. Jen joined North Island College in 2012 to teach introductory and second year university transfer Sociology courses after holding teaching appointments at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. Her scholarship and teaching are informed by social constructionism and critical theories. Her classes emphasize active learning and self-exploration by engaging students in the process of discovery. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Jen sits as co-chair of the Teaching and Learning Committee at NIC, institutional representative of the BC Committee of Universities, Colleges & Institutes Professional Developers, and Director of LUSH Valley Food Action Society. She is working on research projects related to teaching and food security in the Comox Valley. Originally from Windsor, Ontario, Jen relishes living in another storied, working people’s town, Cumberland, B.C.

PhD in Sociology (Carleton University)
MA in Sociology (Carleton University); BA in Women's Studies (Western University)

SOC-110 Introduction to Sociology I
SOC-111 Introduction to Sociology II
SOC-220 Introduction to Sociological Research Methods
SOC-230 Sociological Explanations of Crime & Deviance

Associate of Arts Degree
Criminology Diploma
University Studies

Wrye, J. 2015. “‘Deep Inside Dogs Know What They Want’: Animality, Affect, and Killability in Commercial Pet Foods. In Economies of Death: Economic Logics of Killable Life and Grievable Death. Edited by Tish Lopez and Kathryn Gillespie. New York: Routledge;
Wrye, Jen. 2012. “Boss and Worker: An Active-Learning Exercise in Exploitation and Class Antagonism.” College Teaching 60: 140-146.

Faculty and Staff Profile

Jen Wrye