As part of the University’s Scholars in the Spotlight event series, Alex Fanghanel, Emma Milne, Giulia Zampini, Stacy Banwell and Michael Fiddler hosted a book tour with a difference to launch the publication of their new textbook called Sex and Crime.

Taking the audience – which comprised people from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, including some out of academia – on a tour of their 15-chapter oeuvre, the authors hosted an interactive session in which they presented a few of the main themes of their work.

The audience was asked to grapple with complicated issues to do with sexual consent, sexual propriety, romance fraud, abortion, police surveillance, and institutional sexual violence. By collaborating with the audience using mentimeter, the authors demonstrated the critical, radical pedagogy that has been embedded throughout the textbook, which is one of the reasons why it stands out so much from the crowd as a pivotal text for undergraduate study.

The event was hosted on 12th February as a tongue in cheek and subversive way to link the event with Valentine’s Day. Indeed, a highlight of the evening was when Emma Milne reminded everyone not to get married, because any form of state sanctioned sexual practice was inherently capitalistic and exploitative in nature. Who says romance is dead in criminology?

A video of the event can be viewed here, the book can be purchased here, and the discount code is available at the end of the video.

Feedback from the event:

‘It was a very interesting, extremely well-structured evening’ – Prof Josh Davies

‘A really thought provoking and first class session. Real impact potential’ Prof Steven Haines

‘it was just so exceptional. It had all the elements of an event that stays with you’ Kristian Humble