Karissa Ketter
University of British Columbia
About Me
Karissa is a master's student in the department of sociology at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include global digital surveillance technologies and housing infrastructure. She is currently researching historical planning and lending policy in Vancouver, Canada and London, England.
In September 2026, Karissa will join the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto to begin her PhD program.
Karissa acknowledges she is a settler living on the unceded territories and traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples. Born in Metro Vancouver, she resides in Vancouver, Langley, and on the Sunshine Coast. Specifically, on the ancestral terrority of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), Máthkwi (Matsqui), se'mya'me (Semiahmoo), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and shíshálh (Sechelt) First Nations.
Karissa is a master's student in the department of sociology at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include global digital surveillance technologies and housing infrastructure. She is currently researching historical planning and lending policy in Vancouver, Canada and London, England.
In September 2026, Karissa will join the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto to begin her PhD program.
Karissa acknowledges she is a settler living on the unceded territories and traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples. Born in Metro Vancouver, she resides in Vancouver, Langley, and on the Sunshine Coast. Specifically, on the ancestral terrority of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), Máthkwi (Matsqui), se'mya'me (Semiahmoo), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and shíshálh (Sechelt) First Nations.
Research
Education
Karissa's Master of Arts research explores the orchestration of cultural, financial, and symbolic capital in Vancouver, Canada and London, England through the historic work of urban planners and mortgage lenders. She is a research assistant in the Integration and Infrastructure Lab at the University of British Columbia. Here, she is exploring the application of "superdiversity" in Vancouver.
Her past projects include researching global digital surveillance technologies against globally subordinated populations. Israel's surveillance of Palestinians, the USA's surveillance of illegalized immigrants, and China's surveillance of Uighur Muslims. This work was completed as a research assistant for Dr. Darren Byler.
Education
B.A., Simon Fraser University, International Studies, 2024
M.A., University of British Columbia, Sociology, 2026
Ph.D., University of Toronto, Sociology, ongoing
Publications
Ketter, K., & Byler, D. (2025)
Subordinated Inclusion: Population Sorting Technologies as Digital Confinement in the United States, China, and Israel. Surveillance & Society, 23(4), 398–413.
Byler, D., & Ketter, K. (2024, January 25)
On the Travel of State Crimes by Algorithm: Chinese Camera Systems in Israel. Made in China Journal
Sociology Admission Merit Award
University of Toronto, 2026
Doctoral Recruitment Award
University of Toronto, 2026
Kurt and Anne Paulus Memorial Scholarship
University of British Columbia, 2025
Sociology Graduate Scholarship
University of British Columbia, 2025
Patricia Marchak International Research Scholarship in Sociology
University of British Columbia, 2025
Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master's
SSHRC, 2025
The British Columbia Graduate Scholarship
University of British Columbia, 2024
Undergraduate Scholars Entrance Scholarship with Distinction
Simon Fraser University, 2020–2024
Sociology Admission Merit Award
University of Toronto, 2026
Doctoral Recruitment Award
University of Toronto, 2026
Kurt and Anne Paulus Memorial Scholarship
University of British Columbia, 2025
Sociology Graduate Scholarship
University of British Columbia, 2025
Patricia Marchak International Research Scholarship in Sociology
University of British Columbia, 2025
Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master's
SSHRC, 2025
The British Columbia Graduate Scholarship
University of British Columbia, 2024
Undergraduate Scholars Entrance Scholarship with Distinction
Simon Fraser University, 2020–2024