In Episode 5 of The Sociological Imagination @UCalgary, we interview Professor Emeritus Dr. Gus Brannigan. Dr. Brannigan received both his Masters and Doctoral degrees at the University of Toronto in the 1970s before teaching for two years at the University of Western Ontario. While at Western, he joined a field study of the criminal courts in Peel County, Ontario. Brannigan joined the University of Calgary as an Assistant Professor in 1979 and was appointed Full Professor in 1990. During his career he subsequently undertook studies of prostitution on the prairies for the Department of Justice and conducted field work on the Rwandan genocide in Kigali and Arusha. He retired in 2012 but continues to work in the fields of criminology and social psychology. His best known books include The Social Basis of Scientific Discoveries (Cambridge 1981), Crimes Courts and Corrections (Holt 1984), The Rise and Fall of Social Psychology (Aldine de Gruyter 2004), Beyond the Banality of Evil: Criminology and Genocide (Oxford 2013) and The Use and Misuse of the Experimental Method in Classical Social Psychology (Routledge 2021). His most recent post is "Should Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment be retracted?" published in Retraction Watch in 2025: https://retractionwatch.com/2025/03/10/guest-post-should-zimbardos-stanford-prison-experiment-be-retracted/
Our discussion with Dr. Gus Brannigan begins with his reflections on his early career, including the years after joining the department of sociology, with reference to the beginning of our COSEP colloquium series, the role of general studies at the time in the university, and the creation of our Law and Society program. He also reflects on key changes in the department over the years, including the introduction of our doctoral program. In the latter half of the podcast, Dr. Brannigan engages with the various areas of criminological research he has engaged in over the years, considers directions in criminology moving into the future, and expresses interest in the role of artificial intelligence in universities.