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Dr Christian Robitaille

LECTURER IN SOCIOLOGY
Sociological Studies
0151 291 3469
robitac@hope.ac.uk

I joined Liverpool Hope University in January 2022 as a Lecturer in Sociology. Prior to this, I was a Part-Time Professor in Sociology at the University of Ottawa in Canada (2019-2021). I have also taught Sociology, Economics, and Mathematics at various colleges in Montreal and Ottawa (2016-2020). 

I hold a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Ottawa (2021), an M.A. in Economics from the University of Toronto (2015), and a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Montreal (2014). 

My research expertise is linked to theories of rationality in the social sciences. More particularly, I have studied and built on the theories of rationality provided by the Austrian School of economics and interpretive sociology. I have applied these theories to empirical topics such as radicalisation and investment decisions as influenced by religious affiliations. I am also interested in epistemology and the history of social and political thought.

My teaching is mostly linked to contemporary sociological theories and quantitative research methods. I am teaching at all levels of undergraduate studies as well as at the M.A. level, including a level H advanced research course on "Rationality and Society" and a quantitative research methods workshop for M.A. students.


Publications

Robitaille, C. & Leroux, R., eds. (Forthcoming) The Anthem Companion to Raymond Boudon. London: Anthem Press.

Robitaille, C. (Forthcoming) Raymond Boudon's social theory as a general research program: applications of Boudon's work since his death (2013-2023) and future perspectives. In: Robitaille, C. & Leroux R. (eds.) The Anthem Companion to Raymond Boudon. London: Anthem Press.

Robitaille, C. (Forthcoming) Introduction. In: Robitaille, C. & Leroux, R. (eds.) The Anthem Companion to Raymond Boudon. London: Anthem Press.

Robitaille, C. (Forthcoming). "Etienne Parent et le liberalisme economique comme condition de preservation de la nationalite canadienne-francaise." Canadian Historical Review.

McLaughlin, G. and Robitaille, C. (2024). "Radicalization toward violent extremism: a typology based on a general theory of rationality." Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression 16(1):21-43.

Robitaille, C. & Leroux, R. (2023). "Rationality, praxeology, and history: The contributions of Ludwig von Mises to the theory of rationality in the social sciences." In: Bulle, N. & Di Iorio, F. (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of Methodological Individualism, vol. I. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 161-180.

Robitaille, C. (2023). "La question de la connaissance a priori en sciences sociales: les points de vue de Simiand, Mises et Simmel." Revue de philosophie economique / Review of Economic Philosophy 24(2):63-91.

Robitaille, C. (2022). "Carl Menger on theory and history." Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Order and Organization 10 (5-6):61-74.

Robitaille, C. (2021). "Halbwachs on Quetelet and the use of statistics in sociology." In: Leroux, R. and Marcel, J.-C. (eds.) The Anthem Companion to Maurice Halbwachs. London: Anthem Press, pp. 109-128.

Robitaille, C. (2020). "Simmelian elements in Raymond Boudon's general theory of rationality." The Tocqueville Review / La revue Tocqueville 41 (2): 121-135.

Robitaille, C. (2020). "Time preference and religious affiliation in Canada: a quantitative analysis." Canadian Jewish Studies 30: 136-161.

Robitaille, C. (2019). "Ludwig von Mises, sociology, and metatheory." Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 22 (2): 242-270.