News within the department
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Solitary Confinement and Supermax Prisons: Lessons from America
Consequences of strict isolation in 'supermax' prisons in America examined in public lecture at the University of Leicester on Wednesday 22 May
Online Networking & Employability Award
An opportunity has arisen for students to develop their personal brand and explore their potential of social media in improving career prospects through the Online Networking and Employability Award (ONE).
Public lecture will discuss the impacts of Islamophobic violence in Canada
Criminology expert to discuss anti-Muslim hate crimes in a public lecture at the University of Leicester on Wednesday 8 May
Extremes of Human Cruelty
An inter-disciplinary research network which seeks to explore the human capacity for cruelty is being established at the University of Leicester.
The Extremes of Human Cruelty Research Network, brainchild of Dr Sarah Hodgkinson from the Department of Criminology at the University of Leicester, aims to understand how individuals such as Josef Fritzl and Ian Brady develop in modern society, as well as exploring the reasons behind our fascination with the terrible crimes that they commit.
The network will bring together academics, practitioners and other interested parties from a variety of disciplines to explore a dark and diverse range of topics including sexual and violent offenders, homicide and serial killing, abuse and torture, mass violence, and genocide.
Dr Hodgkinson said: “This research builds on my existing interest in the growth of ‘dark tourism’ in recent years and the way in which we are drawn to darker and darker experiences. In other words, why are we so fascinated by evil and atrocities, and what psychological need does dark tourism fulfil in people?”
Dr Hodgkinson will be conducting some of this research in Germany and Austria during the summer. Anyone who has recently visited a Holocaust site is encouraged to get in touch with her on sf101@le.ac.uk to share their experiences and inform her research.
It is hoped that the network will provide scope for a range of collaborative projects including a symposium, with the potential for it to lead to the publication of a book or a series of journal articles.
A website for the Extremes of Human Cruelty Research Network will be launched in May. Those with an interest in joining the network should Dr Sarah Hodgkinson directly on sf101@le.ac.uk
Academic to explore our fascination with extreme human cruelty
Research network will delve into the darkest side of human nature
