[Exploration] The Sociology of Risk: Crime, Punishment, and Public Safety

with Alysha McDonald '20, PhD Candidate

Presented on: Wednesday, November 12th 2025 at 7:00 PM EST




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How is crime governed? Who defines “risk” and deviance? And how do systems of control shape the lives of those under their gaze?

Join PhD candidate Alysha McDonald for a thought-provoking talk on how social control and risk governance influence our understanding of crime, punishment, and public safety. She’ll also share insights from her research on how formerly incarcerated men navigate risk, freedom, relationships, and identity following release.

About our speaker:

Alysha McDonald is currently in the last year of her PhD in Sociology at McMaster University. Her work focuses on reintegration, identity, freedom and risk management of incarcerated men.  She recently published a paper titled Who cares?: The burdens of care borne by the loved ones of incarcerated men. The paper explores the many ways people are impacted by having a loved one in prison.  McDonald is also working on a Canada-wide reintegration study led by the University of Alberta.  The first of its kind in Canada, this large-scale project is examining the factors contributing to the successes and barriers of community re-entry among people released from provincial prisons. She’s also partnered with the John Howard Society of Ontario for part of her dissertation, and is working with them to create policy reports and briefs based on her PhD findings. She’s hoping that this work will reach stakeholders in the criminal justice system and have a positive impact on people’s re-entry experiences. 

The Exploration Series is generously sponsored by the MasterCard program provided by our affinity partner BMO 

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by McMaster University.