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College of Social Science funding for research student reading groups, discussion groups etc
We are pleased to announce that the College is now able to provide funding for tea, coffee and biscuits to support initiatives such as reading/ discussion groups or groups where students present their work to each other, where these are organized on the students' initiative. This is in order that we support activities which are ongoing in some departments and Schools (Economics, Education and Management), and encourage other initiatives of this kind.
Research Seminar: How gangs work: Why talk is cheap and deeds are precious on the streets
About the Seminar
Have you ever wondered why someone would dare permanently tattoo his or her face with gang symbols? Or wear conspicuous gang insignia when crossing notorious territorial boundaries? Or post extravagant acts of violence on YouTube that, in this digital age of perfect remembering, can be used as evidence against them? Or flaunt a criminal record like a badge of honor? This presentation has the answer. Based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork with gangs in London, Dr James Densley deconstructs the mythology of gangs to make sense of the profiles and motivations of gang members in straightforward, rational terms. He argues gang members read "hard-to-fake" signals, such as those listed above, like lines on curriculum vitae. Recruits, in turn, display them to prove they can be trusted in environments where trust is fragile and no other external dispute resolution mechanism exists. Dr Densley further examines the vital processes of evolution, organisation, and recruitment within gangs and gang members’ instrumental and expressive uses of violence, media, and technology.
| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 15th May 2013 | 13:00 | David Wilson Library Seminar room |
About Dr James Densley
Dr. James Densley was born and raised in Leicester. He is now Assistant Professor in the School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice at Metropolitan State University (Minnesota, USA) and author of How Gangs Work: An Ethnography of Youth Violence (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). Dr Densely's teaching and research interests include street gangs, organized crime, violence, and theoretical criminology. His most recent publications appear in Social Problems, Crime & Delinquency, and the European Journal of Criminology. Densley is also trustee and director of Growing Against Gangs and Violence, an educational partnership with London's Metropolitan Police Service. He earned the D.Phil. and M.Sc. in Sociology from the University of Oxford, the M.S. in Teaching from Pace University, and the B.A. (Hons.) in Sociology with American Studies from the University of Northampton.
This seminar is a free events open to staff, students and members of the public. To book your place please contact us to confirm your attendance.
Careers Opportunity: Media Fellowships
Do you want to put science in the headlines? If you do then the British Science Association Media Fellowships are for you. Experience first-hand how science is reported by spending 3-6 weeks on a summer placement with a press, broadcast or online journalist such as the Guardian, The Irish Times or BBC.
Are you thinking about postgraduate study?
University of Leicester to host Postgraduate Open Evening on Tuesday 19th March
Religious conversion and race-based perceptions in crime to be explored at University of Leicester lectures
Doctoral graduates from the Department of Sociology and Criminology to give Inaugural lectures on 6 March
