Embodied punishment: towards an affective sociology of women's imprisonment

Event synopsis: Criminology has been linked, from its earliest beginnings, with the pragmatism associated with social policy and necessity within the criminal justice system. Historically criminologists spent much of their time assessing whether criminal justice systems provided a fair means of settling disputes or punishing crimes. Conventional criminological thinking primarily hinged on the motivation and disposition of offenders; how to deal with them to alter this; what methods should be utilised to rehabilitate or incapacitate or how to cut short the criminal career. Crime is of course an ever changing phenomenon and today much of the emphasis of time, resources, policies and manpower now seems to be directed against a more international and global threat. Is criminology therefore in danger of being driven by politicians who set their own agendas? Is it the case that fears about levels of crime and security both at national and international levels have eclipsed the work that ‘old’ criminology used to do? The so-called ‘new’ criminologists like Taylor, Walton and Young (1973) sought to challenge orthodox positivist thinking about crime and called for the abolition of the power to criminalise what they saw as human diversity. Their concern with the enlarged power of the state is no less relevant today than it was in the ‘70’s but is criminology commenting on it in the same way? There is a history of criminology being associated with the prevention of abuses by the state. Today, in the light of the current unprecedented financial and economic crisis; new challenges for criminological theory and research and changing threats and opportunities relating to criminal justice policy, the questions are: Is there a need for a fundamental reappraisal of criminology? Is criminology still fit for purpose? Although it is a relatively new scholarly discipline, criminology continues to be a vibrant and fast growing area of both academic and practical specialism. Can this be sustained, and where does the future for this scholarly discipline lie? These and other such questions sit at the heart of the British Society of Criminology conference at Wolverhampton in 2013. It is proposed therefore that criminology in the UK faces an opportunity to reflect upon its own value. To that end the conference will place ‘Criminology on Trial’. A key element of the Conference will be a trial during which Criminology will stand charged with failing to deliver. The prosecution will be led by Professor Steve Tombs. Both prosecution and defence will call eminent ‘witnesses’ in support of their case. The proceedings will be chaired by His Honour, Mr Justice Challinor and members of the audience will act as the jury