Developing a Research Community Built on Solidarity and Social Justice – Research and Knowledge Exchange Awards 2024

I am a critical criminologist whose research crosses the areas of prisons, desistance from crime and resistance movements. My work takes an anti-carceral feminist and abolitionist stance and is concerned with the harms of imprisonment and its detrimental impact on vulnerable people, post custody experiences and communities.

I am currently conducting research into the impact of the new wave of 'mega prisons' on local communities amid the current program of prison expansion.

The importance of community and solidarity has been the driving force behind developing a strong critical research community in both the Criminology Subject group and also across the School of Humanities and Social Science.

Creating opportunities and spaces to come together to discuss, collaborate, challenge and ultimately dismantle the white western male-elite domination of knowledge that is both created and taught in the academy has driven the development of a number of initiatives.

Developing a research community within my School

There are a growing number of critical and engaged criminology scholars in my subject group and I wanted to create a space where people could present their new research plans and develop ideas in a safe and supportive environment, receive feedback and build collaborations. This led to the development of the Criminology Work in Progress sessions which have also included our brilliant postgraduate research (PGR) students.

More widely I also established a School level De-Colonising the curriculum reading group with the help of Dr Chris Till. This has been a really important initiative where we not only come together each month to discuss a chosen text but are in the process of developing a practical strategy of how to incorporate the material into teaching, research, impact and crucially the conversations we have.

In order to support these initiatives, I also host regular online writing workshops for colleagues in Criminology and Sociology to attend and another that involves critical and activist scholars from Universities across Yorkshire. I have also organised two research symposiums with outside speakers and researchers from LBU coming together to talk critically about cutting-edge research on prisons and policing.

Building community and collaborating across LBU

I have been lucky enough to make contact with researchers across the School of Humanities and Social Science and the University more widely as a result of organising these events. This has been particularly important personally as I am quite new to LBU having moved from the University of Liverpool in 2023, but it has also led to research and teaching collaborations for a number of people. The growth, support and amplifying of these critical voices in research and teaching is something I am very passionate about, and I hope to see it develop further. Building solidarity and strong communities around research and teaching is good for staff, for research outcomes and for students.

My plans for the future

I am hoping to develop a research cluster around engaged and activist scholars where we can champion critical research and inform our teaching through events, collaborations, continued workshops and a shared commitment to decolonising the curriculum.

My advice for building a sense of community

Strong communities of any kind are built on solidarity. Research communities are no different and a shared commitment to social justice is the driving force behind developing them.