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At ninety-eight (2006), Oswald Hall is Canada's senior, distinguished sociologist. For several decades Dr. Hall's colleagues have acknowledged his abiding ‘contributions to the growth of sociology in Canada and his loyalty to the profession.’ The prime purpose of this paper is to document Dr. Hall's legacy. It begins by briefly looking at Dr. Hall's origins and early training. Then it investigates his graduate and postgraduate education and delves into his varied roles as a teacher, researcher, civil servant, and administrator, as well as his appointments to various advisory bodies, enquiries, boards and associations and concludes with a commentary on Oswald Hall's accomplishments. Throughout the paper, Dr. Hall's major publications are reviewed chronologically. This study does not include Hall's twenty-seven year involvement with the chiropractic profession (1976 to 1998) because that era has been covered extensively in the December 2005 issue of the JCCA.2 Much of the article is based on testimony from colleagues and friends, as well as quotes from some of Hall's unpublished writings and manuscripts. Unpublished Hall quotes are identified in the references by their titles and/or dates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of sociology as a discipline in Canada is intimately related to its institutional position within Canadian universities. As student bodies expanded, not only did the demand for university-based sociologists increase but there was also a demand for society-specific class material for sociology courses. This paper examines the textbook, particularly in the 1970's, as a symbol of changes and developments in the discipline and demonstrates its role in synthesis-building, community-building, and nation-building in anglo-Canadian sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a commentary on a paper by Robert A. Stebbins in a previous issue of The American Sociologist which provided an account of professional and amateur sociology in the U.S. The British organization, Mass Observation existed in a relatively nonintrusive society with (as compared to the U.S.) greater concern for one's own and other people's privacy. Canada and Great Britain may in this respect have more built-in defenses against the risks of some kinds of amateur sociology that the U.S. would have. However, according to the commenter, Stebbins already anticipates this objection by requiring amateurs to be supervised and to start with a certain amount of instruction and proper cautionary comments. By engaging primarily in the use of unobtrusive measures and observations, the amateur will avoid the risks of harm to which Stebbins is already sensitive. The commenter relates that one of the public areas in which he has encouraged such unobtrusive observations is in churches, where the observer in outward appearance is similar to the congregation and hence not seen as an intruder. According to him, he has had a fair amount of experience with undergraduate amateurs of the sort described.