The Sociological Imagination @ UCalgary

Nov. 23, 2024 | Duration: 01:14:31

Episode Summary

For our inaugural episode of The Sociological Imagination @UCalgary, we interviewed Emeritus Professor of Sociology Dr. Tom Langford, who reflects on his years spent in the department, how it has changed over time, and favourite memories. Dr. Langford joined the department in 1989 and was Head of Department from 2003 to 2009. 

Guest Bio

Dr. Tom Langford is an Emeritus Professor and former department head in the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary. He has a PhD from McMaster University. Langford is the author of books The Lights on the Tipple Are Going Out: Fighting Economic Ruin in a Canadian Coalfield Community and Alberta’s Day Care Controversy: From 1908 to 2009—and Beyond. Langford retired in 2020 after a just over three decade long academic career at the University of Calgary. His research has focused on globalization, labour, and the politics of early learning and childcare.

Episode Notes                        

“Tenured professors have to be willing to stick out their neck sometimes, especially if the discipline comes under attack, and you have to mobilise your supporters.”

• Dr. Tom Langford recalls his lengthy career in the sociology department beginning in 1989, after graduating from McMaster University.
• Tom discusses the faculty at the time he joined and their research programs, and then reflects on changes over time, including financial difficulties during the 1990s related to provincial budget cuts, challenges related to increased teaching loads and retirements, and the shift in Canadian sociology from quantitative to qualitative and interpretive approaches.
• He compares and contrasts budget funding cuts in the 1990s to the budget landscape today, reflecting on struggles over academic direction.
• Tom discusses how he managed being Head of Department, with a focus on transparency especially in the context of financial difficulties.
• Tom shares stories of logistical challenges related to conducing doctoral student examinations.
• Tom discusses what is distinct about sociology in Canada and in particular our department, given wider trends in terms of attenuating financial and social support for sociology.
• Tom expands on what he found most rewarding over the years, focusing on memories of note including the good feelings of supervising graduate students and seeing where they go, and the remarkable focus of one PhD student whose candidacy exams included the background chorus of domestic chores.

Aug. 26, 2025 | Duration: 20:56

Episode Summary

Our second episode features Dr. Cora Voyageur, a full Professor who joined the Department of Sociology at The UofC in 1989, and is currently the longest serving faculty member in our department. Cora reflects on her career with our department, changes regarding research with Indigenous communities, as well as challenges and favourite memories over the years.

Guest Bio 

Dr. Cora Voyageur is a full Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Calgary. A member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and a residential school survivor, her research focuses on Indigenous women’s leadership, health, entrepreneurship, and community development, and the ways in which Indigenous peoples have shaped Canadian society. Dr. Voyageur has published dozens of academic articles, book chapters, and community reports, and presented her research at more than 100 academic conferences and international fora such as the Oxford Round Tables in Britain and the United Nations in New York.

Episode Notes 

Dr. Voyeur, who is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, reflects on the increasing diversity of faculty at the university over the years, and her active community engagement both at the national and international level. Dr. Voyageur discusses the changes regarding research with Indigenous communities; i.e., away from an extractive, colonial framework emphasizing pathology and maladaptation to one that is strengths-based, and centers principles of OCAP (ownership, control, access and possession). Dr. Voyageur also recalls favourite memories and considers what is next for sociology as a discipline moving forward.