Print

---

Apologies for any x-posting

Criminology & Criminal Justice Call for Papers

Special Issue: Queer Theory and Criminology

Queer theory and criminology share an interest in questions of deviance and normativity, formal and informal social control, ‘othering’, social marginality and social harm. Arguably, the regulation of sexual behaviours and gender performance has been an enduring concern in both domains. Despite this,

theoretical and empirical work on sex and sexuality, and the debates and concerns of queer theory and queer studies, have been largely insulated from criminology as a discipline, even within its critical strands.

Scholars seeking to traverse these disciplines face a number of dilemmas: What does queer mean for criminology and what are the implications of queering the field? How can we avoid an approach that simply adds queer issues and stirs? Is queer criminology merely about incorporating LGBTQ+ populations into established criminological theory? Is it a ‘corrective’ reading of criminology, demonstrating that existing theories of crime and deviance are already queer? Or does queering criminology lead us to an inevitable disruption of the foundations of criminology? What are the potential connections, overlaps and tensions between queer approaches and other critical traditions, such as feminist, critical race, postcolonial and critical disability theories, vis-à-vis criminology? Do criminology and criminal justice need queering, and does queer theory need the criminological? 

With these questions in mind the aim of this special issue is to advance dialogue between queer theory, queer studies, and criminology. The special issue is concerned with the theoretical dimensions of queering criminology and its implications for the broader field. We invite both through theoretical discussions and articles that make use of these insights and debates in empirical and applied research.

Potential strands of inquiry might include, but are not limited to:

• Considerations of what is at stake in claims for ‘queer criminology’ as a new subfield or discipline;
• Interrogating gaps between queer theory and criminological theories;
• The implications of queer methodologies for criminological research;
• Queer analysis of desire, pleasure and power in relation to questions of social harm and violence;
• Intersectional queer analyses of structural harms and social justice, drawing on feminist, critical race, post-colonial, trans and/or critical disability studies;
• Queer visions of justice, anti-carceral and abolitionist feminist imaginations, and transformative justice responses to violence and harm;
• Critiques of homonationalism, homonormativity, pink capitalism and social harm;
• Trans, gender non-conforming and non-binary experiences of justice, social control and marginalisation.
• Exploring what queer theory offers to contemporary criminological issues and debates (e.g. sexual and gendered violence, state crime and borders, austerity and corporate harm, mass incarceration, transitional justice, historic injustices such as reparations for slavery)

We particularly welcome contributions from scholars and scholar-activists working in disciplines outside criminology; those who experience structural marginalisation, such as institutional racism, ableism or classism; and scholars working beyond the Anglophone sphere.

Guest editors

Avi Boukli (Open University), Nicola Carr (Nottingham), Julia Downes (Open University), Alex Dymock (Royal Holloway), Sarah Lamble (Birkbeck), Tanya Serisier (Birkbeck)

Article requirements

We are seeking articles of no more than 6,000 words (including tables, illustrations, notes and references). We also welcome proposals for shorter intervention pieces of 2000-3000 words. 

All submissions should conform to the manuscript style of Criminology & Criminal Justice. Please consult author guidelines well in advance of submission: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/

journal/criminology-criminal-justice#submission-guidelines.

Time Frame / Process for Selection

Abstracts / paper proposals of no more than 500 words should be submitted to the guest editors at nicola.carr@nottingham,ac.uk or [log in to unmask] by 31st December 2018.

Guest editors are happy to discuss potential article proposals informally before this.

Authors whose proposals are selected will be informed by 31 January 2019. Full manuscripts will be due 1 August 2019 and will be subject to peer review. Final decisions about publication will be made by the Guest Editors and subject to approval by the Journal Editors. The print copy of Special Issue will appear in September 2020.

About the Journal

Criminology & Criminal Justice is a leading, peer reviewed journal of original research and thinking in the field. The journal seeks to reflect the vibrancy of the disciplines of criminology and criminal justice throughout the UK and internationally. It publishes work of the highest quality and academic rigour from around the world and across all areas of criminology and criminal justice. It is interdisciplinary in nature, and is devoted to providing an international forum for critical debate and policy discussions of criminological and criminal justice research findings. Co-Editors-in-Chief: Professor Michele Burman, Professor Laura Piacentini, Dr Sarah Armstrong.