Sociology - Research

The ultimate expression of power is the ability to act beyond the confines of law. Illuminating the condition of ‘panoramic power’, this book offers new thinking on damaging structures of power and privilege – and the political activities needed to achieve intervention and change.

Can the criminal justice system achieve justice based on its ability to determine the truth? This book investigates the concept of truth and scrutinises how well the criminal justice process facilitates truth-finding. It bridges the gap between what people expect from the justice system and what it can legitimately deliver.

Bringing together cutting-edge feminist research, this collection uses participatory, inclusive and narrative methodologies to highlight the lived experiences of women involved with the criminal justice system.

From anti-terrorism agendas, to the punishment of the poor and the governance of parenting, this book explores how diverse fields of social policy intersect more deeply than ever with crime control and in so doing, deploy troubling strategies.

Greece is a key EU entry country for unaccompanied migrant minors seeking safety but such children are frequently criminalised through detention processes. Giving voice to migrant children throughout, Papadopoulos promotes child-friendly practices and the safeguarding of fundamental rights.

This timely and unique contribution brings together leading scholars from criminology and theology to challenge criminal justice orthodoxy. They question the dominance of retributive punishment, and consider alternatives which draw on Christian ideas of hope, mercy and restoration.

Moral order is disturbed by criminal events, however traditionally, issues around morality have been neglected by criminologists. Using the moral perspective Boutellier bridges the gap between people’s emotional opinions on crime, and criminologists rationalised answers to questions of crime and security.

Drawing on complex narratives across film, TV, novels and graphic novels, this authoritative critical analysis demonstrates the value of fictional narratives as a tool for understanding, explaining and reducing crime and social harm. McGregor establishes an original theory of the criminological value of fiction.

It is impossible to view the news at present without hearing talk of crisis: the economy, the climate, the pandemic. This book asks how these larger societal issues lead to a crisis with work, making it ever more precarious, unequal and intense. Experts diagnose the nature of the problem and offer a programme for transcending above the crises.

Establishing a new interdisciplinary methodology, ‘criminological criticism’, Rafe McGregor proposes a model for collaboration between literary studies and critical criminology that is beneficial to the humanities, the social sciences and society.

In this engaging and original book, John Clarke is in conversation with twelve leading individual scholars about the dynamics of critical thinking in the social sciences, and he reflects on the necessity of thinking collaboratively and dialogically.

Involving four generations of Global South researchers, this book provides a theoretical and empirical critique of Burawoy’s model of public sociology. It offers a bridge between debates on public sociology and decolonial frameworks.