Joseph M. Bryant is a historical sociologist whose research has focused primarily on classical antiquity: its politics, modes of war-making, economic practices, and its cultural achievements in the arts and philosophical inquiry. He is currently engaged in research on the rise of Christianity, seeking to explicate the social forces that enabled an illegal and marginalized religion to weather the storms of persecution, and eventually become the imperial religion of a declining Roman Empire. In addition to substantive interests in comparative world history, Bryant attends to ongoing debates in sociological theory and method, largely in reference to philosophy of science questions and issues.
After completing his Ph.D., and having served as a post-doctoral fellow and sessional lecturer here at U of T, Bryant accepted a position in Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. In 1999 he returned to the University of Toronto, and is currently cross-appointed in the Department of Sociology and the Department for the Study of Religion.
Areas of Interest
- Historical Sociology
- Sociology of Religion (primary focus on the Early Christianity)
- Philosophy of Science (primary focus on the logic of explanation)
- Sociological Theory
- Comparative World History
- Sociology of Culture
Primary Teaching
- SOC 6201H Graduate Seminar in Historical Sociology
- RLG210Y/SOC250Y Sociology of Religion
- RLG 1000Y Method and Theory in the Study of Religion
Latest Selected Publications
2011. “New Directions and Perennial Challenges in the Sociology of Philosophy”
2010. “The Sociology of Early Christianity: From History to Theory and Back Again”
2009. “Persecution and Schismogenesis: How a Penitential Crisis Over Mass Apostasy Facilitated the Triumph of Catholic Christianity in the Roman Empire”
2008. “A New Sociology for a New History? Further Critical Thoughts on the Eurasian Similarity and Great Divergence Theses”
2006. “The West and the Rest Revisited: Debating Capitalist Origins, European Colonialism, and the Advent of Modernity”
2005. Historical Methods in the Social Sciences, IV Volumes, co-edited with John Hall
1996. Moral Codes and Social Structure in Ancient Greece: A Sociology Of Greek Ethics From Homer to the Epicureans and Stoics
Student Opportunities
Opportunities for student supervision available within the following areas: Historical Sociology, Sociology of Religion/Sociology of Early Christianity, and Sociology of Knowledge/Culture/Philosophy.
Contact information
Position: Professor
Department of Sociology
725 Spadina Ave., Room 346
E-mail: joseph.bryant@utoronto.ca
Tel: 416-946-5901
Fax: 416-978-3963