University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

Renowned sociologist and feminist Dorothy E. Smith introduced me to the conception of research on which my own work is founded. I was one of the first of her students to undertake a dissertation using the institutional ethnography approach. This publication provides the definitive statement of Smith's innovative approach. Since its publication, I routinely consult the book in undertaking new work and recommend it to students interested in embarking on their own projects. Smith's sociology has its foundations in the women's movement, the sociology of knowledge, and Marx's studies of political economy.

Institutional ethnography offers us an indispensable tool for disclosing the social relations of ruling that govern all our lives. For anyone interested in discovering the processes and mechanisms through which power is organized and exercised, with a view toward building a more just and inclusive society, this is an essential book.