John Porter

Who was John Porter?

John Arthur Porter was one of Canada's most important sociologists during the period from 1950 to the late 1970s. His work in the field of social stratification opened up new areas of inquiry for many sociologists in Canada.

Porter was born in Vancouver and completed his education at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom. While at the LSE, he became interested in studies of social class. On returning to Canada he joined the faculty of Carleton University. He remained at Carleton as a professor, and later, as department chairman, dean and academic vice-president. Porter was also visiting professor at Harvard and the University of Toronto.