Positioning itself within significant developments in genocide studies arising from misgivings about two noteworthy observers, Arendt and Milgram, this book asks what lies 'beyond the banality of evil'? And suggests the answer lies within criminology. Offering the author's reflections about how to interpret genocide as a crime, Beyond the Banality of Evil: Criminology and Genocide endeavours to understand how the theories of criminal motivation might shed light on these stunning events and make them comprehensible. While a great deal has been written about the shortcomings of the obedience paradigm and 'desk murderers' when discussing the Holocaust, little has been said of what results when investigations are taken beyond these limitations. Through examination and analysis of the literature surrounding genocide studies, Brannigan frames the events within a general theoretical approach to crime before applying his own revised model, specifically to Rwanda and drawn from field-work in 2004 and 2005. This provides a new and compelling account of the dynamics of the 1994 genocide and its distinctive attributes of speed, popularity, totality and emotional indifference. With a focus on the disarticulation of personal culpability among ordinary perpetrators, Beyond the Banality of Evil questions the effectiveness of individual-level guilt imputation in these politically based, collectively orchestrated crimes, and raises doubts about the utility of criminal indictments that have evolved in the context of models of individual misconduct.

This book critically examines the work of a number of pioneers of social psychology, including legendary figures such as Kurt Lewin, Leon Festinger, Muzafer Sherif, Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram, and Philip Zimbardo. Augustine Brannigan argues that the reliance of these psychologists on experimentation has led to questions around validity and replication of their studies. The author explores new research and archival work relating to these studies and outlines a new approach to experimentation that repudiates the use of deception in human experiments and provides clues to how social psychology can re-articulate its premises and future lines of research. Based on the author's 2004 work The Rise and Fall of Social Psychology, in which he critiques the experimental methods used, the book advocates for a return to qualitative methods to redeem the essential social dimensions of social psychology. Covering famous studies such as the Stanford Prison Experiment, Milgram's studies of obedience, Sherif's Robbers Cave, and Rosenhan's expose of psychiatric institutions, this is essential and fascinating reading for students of social psychology, and the social sciences. It's also of interest to academics and researchers interested in engaging with a critical approach to classical social psychology, with a view to changing the future of this important discipline.

This book critically examines the work of a number of pioneers of social psychology, including legendary figures such as Kurt Lewin, Leon Festinger, Muzafer Sherif, Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram, and Philip Zimbardo. Augustine Brannigan argues that the reliance of these psychologists on experimentation has led to questions around validity and replication of their studies. The author explores new research and archival work relating to these studies and outlines a new approach to experimentation that repudiates the use of deception in human experiments and provides clues to how social psychology can re-articulate its premises and future lines of research. Based on the author's 2004 work The Rise and Fall of Social Psychology, in which he critiques the experimental methods used, the book advocates for a return to qualitative methods to redeem the essential social dimensions of social psychology. Covering famous studies such as the Stanford Prison Experiment, Milgram's studies of obedience, Sherif's Robbers Cave, and Rosenhan's expose of psychiatric institutions, this is essential and fascinating reading for students of social psychology, and the social sciences. It's also of interest to academics and researchers interested in engaging with a critical approach to classical social psychology, with a view to changing the future of this important discipline.

What constitutes a scientific discovery? How do discoveries happen and how are they recognised as such? These are questions of central concern to scientists and philosophers. In this book, Augustine Brannigan provides a critical examination of the major theories which have been devised to account for discoveries and innovations in science, and develops a fresh alternative. Dr Brannigan begins by arguing that most theories fall into one of two classes: mentalistic theories, which describe how ideas come into the mind, and cultural theories, which describe how they 'mature' in a particular culture. His account reveals a series of empirical and methodological problems that make these existing models untenable and he proposes as an alternative a sociological approach, which draws attention not to what makes discoveries happen, but to the processes whereby certain achievements are recognised and labelled as discoveries. This approach is illustrated in detail with a number of important scientific cases. The book throws light not only on the conventional character of discoveries but also on the folk elements in popular theories about discovery, such as genius, gestalt switch and simultaneous invention.

Comprising fourteen articles by leading international contributors, including some of the most prominent socio-legal and criminological scholars working in the field, this volume is currently the only work available that critically examines W.G. Carson and his crucial influence in the turn towards sociological approaches to criminology and a criminological interest in governance and social control.

The 1970s witnessed an epiphany in the sociological understanding of crime in Britain. The correctional perspective, which assumed crimes had inherent or essential qualities that distinguished them from other acts, was superseded by the analysis of how social events came to be defined as so harmful and repugnant as to require criminalization. This shift in perspectives was exemplified in W.G. Carson's work, which combines a Marxist acknowledgement of the imperative for profit with a symbolic interactionist attention to the restraining effect of prestige and status among producers and regulators.

This key work is an essential read for postgraduates and researchers studying and researching in the areas of criminology and law.