I am Professor of Sociology & Criminology in the Department of Sociology at King's University College, affiliated research professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University, and North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Research Fellow.
Education
- Ph.D. in Sociology – University of South Carolina
- M.A. in Sociology – Carleton University
- B.A. with Honours in Criminology – UOIT
Teaching
I teach a variety of courses in sociology and criminology, including Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Sociology of Sport & Physical Fitness, Criminological Theory, Sociology of Terrorism, Surveillance and Society, Quantitative and Qualitative methods.
Research
I am a sociocultural scholar of sport, critical sociologist and (sometimes) criminologist interested in identity, labour, racism, inequality, and justice. My work can be found in the peer-reviewed journals Critical Sociology; Critical Criminology; Punishment and Society; Crime, Media, Culture; Sociology of Sport Journal; Journal of Sport & Social Issues; Policing & Society; Kinesiology Review; Annals of Leisure Research; Social Science & Medicine – Qualitative Research in Health; Sociological Forum; Race & Class; and Educational Gerontology. My latest book, The End of College Football: On the Human Cost of an All-American Game, co-authored with Dr. Nathan Kalman Lamb, was published by UNC Press in Fall of 2024 and was awarded the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport’s (NASSS) Outstanding Book Award in 2025.
I am an active public writer and podcaster, and widely published in outlets including TIME Magazine, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Daily Beast, Sportico, Jacobin, and The Baffler. Co-founder, co-host, and producer of The End of Sport podcast, found wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube!
Selected Publications
Books
Kalman-Lamb, Nathan and Derek Silva. 2024. The End of College Football: On the Human Cost of an All-American Game. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press.
Silva, Derek and Liam Kennedy. 2022. Power Played: A Critical Criminology of Sport. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.
Luscombe, Alex, Kevin Walby and Derek Silva (eds.). 2022. Changing of the Guards: Private Influences, Privatization, and Criminal Justice in Canada. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.
Journal Articles
Silva, Derek and Nathan Kalman-Lamb. 2024. “’Good Advice for a bloodsport’: Injury, coercion, harm, and physical extraction in US college football.” Kinesiology Review. Online First.
Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva. 2024. “’Play’ing college football: Campus athletic worker experiences of exploitation.” Critical Sociology 50(4-5): 863-882.
Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva. 2024. “Defamiliarizing concussions: Sports fandom, injury, and potential attitudinal shifts.” Communication & Sport. Online First.
Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva. 2024. “’The coaches always make the health decisions’: Conflict of Interest as Exploitation in Power Five College Football.” Social Science and Medicine – Qualitative Research in Health 5(2024): 100405.
Johanna Mellis, Silva, Derek, and Nathan Kalman-Lamb. 2024. “’In the Arena’: Reflections on Critical Public Engagements on College Sport.“ Journal of Higher Education Athletics & Innovation 2(2): 163-192.
Norman, Mark, Derek Silva, Liam Kennedy, William Cipolli III. 2024. “’Essential for the soul’?” Leisure as a flashpoint during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Ontario, Canada.” Annals for Leisure Research, 27(1): 167-186.
Spencer, Dale, Derek Silva, Delphine DiTecco, and Carmen West. 2023. “CrossFit and ‘Cancel Culture‘: Probing practitioners’ responses to the ‘cancelling‘ of Greg Glassman.“ Journal of Sport and Social Issues 47(5): 371-391.
Spencer, Dale, Rosemary Ricciardelli and Derek Silva. 2022. “’They Call Us for Everything’: Cynicism, Rural Policing, and Youth Justice.” Policing & Society, 32(6): 699-714.
Kennedy, Liam and Derek Silva. 2021. “Knuckle-Dragging Thugs”: Civilizing Processes and the Biosocial Revolution in the National Hockey League.” Crime, Media, Culture 17(1): 105-126.
Sardoc, Mitja, C. A. J. Coady, Vittorio Bufacchi, Fathali Moghaddam, Quassim Cassam, Derek Silva, Nenad Miscevic, Gorazd Andrejc, Zdenko Kodelja, Boris Vezjak, Michael A. Peters, and Marek Tesar. 2021. “Philosophy of Education in a New Key: On Radicalization and Violent Extremism.” Educational Philosophy and Theory.
Kennedy, Liam and Derek Silva. 2020. “Discipline That Hurts”: Punitive Logics and Governance in Sport. Punishment & Society 22(5): 658-680.
Castleton, Alex, Alejandro Cid, and Derek Silva. 2020. “For Older Folks Like Me, These Things Are Over Us…”: The Challenge of Embedding iPads in Everyday Life Within a Long-term Care Facility.” Educational Gerontology 46(4): 167-181.
Kennedy, Liam, Derek Silva, William Cipolli, and Madelaine Coehlo. 2019. “We Are All Broncos: Hockey, Tragedy, and the Formation of Canadian National Identity.'' Sociology of Sport Journal 36(4): 189-202.
Silva, Derek, William Cipolli, and Roy Bower. 2018. "In Search of a Five-Star: The Centrality of Body Discourses in the Scouting of High School Football Athletes." Sociology of Sport Journal 35(3): 324-333.
Silva, Derek. 2018. "Radicalisation: The Journey of a Concept Revisited." Race & Class 59(4): 34-53.
Silva, Derek. 2017. "The Othering of Muslims: Discourses of Radicalization in the New York Times, 1969-2014." Sociological Forum 32(1): 138-161.
Popular Writing
Various writing published in Time Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Guardian, In These Times, The Nation, Jacobin, The Baffler, Sportico, LitHub, Public Books, The New Republic, The Daily Beast, Canadian Dimension, and more.