Jay Cavanagh
University of Calgary
About
Jay Cavanagh (he/him) is a queer and first-generation doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary, where he is currently working under the supervision of Professor Ariel Ducey. Jay is also a Graduate Scholar at the Graduate College, and the current elected Chair of the Sociology Graduate Student Caucus (SGSC) at the University of Calgary.
Between the Fall of 2022 and Spring 2024, Jay has received a number of competitive awards, including a Doctoral Entrance Scholarship ($20,000) and an Eyes High International Doctoral Scholarship ($15,000), each from the University of Calgary. In March 2024, Jay also received the Michael & Michelle Williams Award in Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine Studies for his research on the work of revolutionary Brazilian psychiatrist, Dra. Nise da Silveira.
Jay's thesis research lies at the intersections of the sociology of health and illness, the sociology of knowledge, mad studies, and critical phenomenology. He is primarily interested in the subjective sensory experience of the borderline in recovery processes, both within sites of clinical intervention and within peer support environments.
A self-identifying member of mad and psychiatric survivor communities, Jay's work takes up the task of reorienting understandings of the borderline personality through lived-experience lenses. It sets out to frustrate the many ways in which society suppresses and systemically others neurodivergent ways of being and feeling, considering how a reimagining of how we conceptualise emotion and borderline experiences might contribute to better care and support for those living with mental illness.
Interests
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Critical Phenomenology
Embodiment and Enmindment
Patient-clinician Interaction
Lived-experience Research
Community-based Research
Qualitative Methods
Education
PhD in Sociology (2026, Expected)
University of Calgary - Graduate Scholar, The Graduate CollegeMA in History (2021)
University of Toronto - Junior Fellow, Massey CollegeBA (Hons.) in History (2019)
University of Leicester
Affiliations and Academic Memberships
Canadian Sociological Association (CSA), 2022-2026
American Sociological Association (ASA), 2022-2023
The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), 2022-2023
Society for Disability Studies, 2022-2023
Disability History Association, 2022-2023
Canadian Association for Health Humanities (CAHH), 2023-2024
British Society for Phenomenology (BSP), 2023-2024